Trigger On - The Unusual Black Trigger
by Winter Cheshire
Summary: If there were another rank of Border Agents, comparable to the best A-Rank squads with certain individuals being on the level of S-Rank members, what sort of problems might occur? Well for one of these people, a Black-Trigger that is completely useless against the main body of enemies that Border faces and a strange situation puts her right in the middle of one of these incidents.
1. Prologue

Border Agents are the protectors of Mikado City, maybe some could even say they protect the world. However, they are the ones out there risking everything to protect the people; to destroy the monsters that appear wave after wave to invade. There are C-Rank trainees, B-Rank agents who patrol, A-Rank teams that are the most well-known and are considered the strongest, S-Rank members who fight using Black Triggers, and the higher-ups who keep Border running. But there is a class that no one seems to realize exists - The rank known as O-Rank, the Floaters.

The Floaters are few and far between, but they are often comparable to A-Rank or S-Rank agents. They are agents of Border that are very different as compared to the others thanks to their Triggers. The O-Rank agents all call a certain branch their home, and there is one Black Trigger User in each of the 3 squads. On top of this, each squad can be put on missions for many months at a time without ever returning to base. Because of this, they often are deemed as loners.

One of these O-Rank agents is a woman named Akemi Aihara. She has been associated with Border for many years, even before it was an official agency, and fought against the Neighbors in the First Invasion. She watched many of her friends die, unable to save them, and thus turned to being a full time agent as soon as she was done with high school. She attended the same school as Soya Kazama, being one year his senior, as well as Shuji Miwa's older sister, who was killed before Akemi was able to save her. She witnessed the death of the boy her sister held dear and her brother was nearly killed. Even as a Black Trigger user, she was unable to do anything in these instances, so she wanted only to get strong enough to prevent the loss of anyone else.

Akemi and her squad are returning to Tamakoma Branch after a 3-month mission, and the woman is about to find herself in quite a troublesome situation involving her former classmate's little brother and her underclassman. On top of that 3 new members of Tamakoma Branch who are trying to move up the ladder and a certain pair of attackers who share a very similar attitude about things get involved. All of this drama creates quite a situation for the oldest child of the Aihara to handle.

* * *

Name: Akemi Aihara

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Hair Color: Dark Brown

Eye Color: Ash Blue

Height: 156.5 cm

Noteable Features: Large bust, short hair that gets wavy at the ends, doesn't smile much, glasses, and drinks a lot of coffee. Often seen carrying around a black case when not in her Trion body.

Uniform Style: Blazer that resembles Konami's, but minus the glove portion. Wears shorts with stockings with garter and tall boots. Her outfit is mostly black, but the trim is lavender and there is a white stripe along the sleeves. Her Trigger Uniform Glasses have lavender half-frames.

Casual Look: Black high-neck tank top over a grey plaid skirt, stockings, ankle boots with fur trim, and a grey hoodie. Her casual glasses have all black rectangular frames.

Trigger Type: Black Trigger – Mukou , Border Trigger – Shooter

* * *

(Hi there everyone ; v ;

I'm sorry for keeping people waiting on my other stories, I'm trying to find a good way to continue them. But I just got into this anime thanks to a friend and I really liked it so I'm hoping to get to write a good fanfiction for World Trigger~

I hope you all like what's to come ; 7 ;

-Winter Cheshire)


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Returning Home

* * *

A brunette woman with ash-blue eyes walked down from the ship returning from the Neighborhood with her team, heading quickly through the halls of Border and up towards the meeting room that Commander Kido had called them to. She caught many confused looks, assuming most of the people in the halls would not recognize her or her team. O-Rank agents were little known, but their presence was daunting. Most of the B-Ranks stood aside even without realizing that they were, and any C-Ranks looked shocked to see this, jumping aside immediately. She continued to walk until she noticed someone at the end of the hall, near the meeting room door. "… Kagami, take the others inside." She said, the man walking closest to her nodding and leading the other two agents inside the meeting room. The brunette looked up at the man, his smooth black hair and deep set eyes all too familiar to her. "What is it, Shuji?" she asked. He stared at her for a minute, as though taking in that she was there.

"You're… home, huh?"

"Yes, I am… is that a problem?" she questioned.

"No."

"Then may I head into my meeting with the Commanding Chief?"

"Yes… Sorry for bothering you." He replied, letting her walk past him and into the meeting room. Upon entering, she noticed Shinoda and Commander Kido, along with her boss Rindo. Kinuta and Netsuki also sat at the table with Karasawa.

"I apologize for the delay. You received the reports, Commander?"

"We did." Kido stated. "Now, aside from this report there was another matter at hand."

"Which would be?"

"Your sister." Akemi paused at the mention of her sister, but stayed silent."She is still a B-Rank, but because of her lack of proficiency with Border's Triggers she is incapable of working well with any team." Kido added. "Not to mention that she has used an unauthorized trigger, but refuses to come in."

"I did tell you that she would use it should she be in extreme danger." Akemi replied. "As for not coming in, I will retrieve her, however." Her glare sharpened at Commander Kido. "Should you attempt to harm her, I will not hesitate to defend her with everything I am, sir." She bowed out after he dismissed her and her team, leaving the room.

"That was intense, Akemi-senpai." A young man with light heather-grey hair stated. "Is Ayumi-chan turning into a rebel?"

"Shut up, Sanyo." The reddish-brown haired man said. "Don't push your luck."

"Kagami. Take Sanyo and Eita back to Tamakoma. I have some things to attend to." Akemi said, noticing Shuji standing around the corner at the end of the hall.

"Understood, Akemi-san." Kagami nodded, taking the two younger boys out of the hall, glancing over his shoulder at his captain before nodding his head, his reddish-brown hair the last thing seen before he turned the corner fully. Once they were gone, Akemi turned to where Shuji was, walking over to him.

"Shall we take a walk, Shuji?" she asked, wondering what was on his mind. As they began to head down the hall, Shuji's nervousness became obvious. "You know, you can't get hung up on this." Akemi said. Shuji Miwa was the younger brother of one of Akemi's former classmates, the girl had been killed before Akemi could save her. Akemi knew Shuji was upset, she understood his hatred, but what she didn't understand was what he saw in her. Akemi had heard from Shuji's sister that at some point the Miwa boy had developed a crush on the brunette. Akemi was worried for Shuji, but more so she was worried that her being back would interfere with his work. He was a damn good agent of Border, but she knew he was distracted by her. There was no point in bringing that up now. Shuji had asked her if she would consider joining Miwa Squad, but she had refused. "It's better you avoid me altogether. I'm a floater for a reason." That had been her response before she'd left for the away mission. At the time he looked slightly crestfallen. She didn't want to upset him, but it was better that way.

"Akemi." The woman was snapped from her headspace, looking up to see another familiar face. It was Soya Kazama, leader of Kazama Squad and an A-Rank attacker. She had almost expected him to show up today. "Jin was looking for you." What a lie, Jin wasn't even at base right now, but she'd play along.

"He's just going to bug me more..." she replied, shaking her head. "I'll see him when I go back to Tamakoma anyway." she added. "And sorry for bailing out last time you asked me for a sparring match."

"Nn, don't worry about it." Kazama shook his head, looking at Miwa. "You two… going somewhere?"

"Nowhere in particular. We ran into each other so we were just talking." she replied, smiling a little. That smile, it hurt Shuji to see her smile like that. He turned on a heel after dismissing himself, then rushed off somewhere. "Ah, Shuji!" Akemi exclaimed, but he'd already left the hallway. She heaved a heavy sigh before turning back to Soya. "He's been like that for a while, I take it?"

"No, that's only with you." The blackette stated, noting that she seemed bothered. "Is he bothering you?"

"No, of course not. Shuji's a good boy." She muttered. "I just wish he'd see the good in my sister."

"You still want them to get together?" he asked, walking over to her and leaning against the wall she stood by.

"I've always wanted that, Soya..." she said, leaning against the wall with her friend. "His sister wanted it too... they would be good for each other... but neither one can see that. Shuji's the type to get hyper focused on things, and Ayu's scared something will happen if she chooses to accept Shuji into her life that way... like the last time..."

"Ah, you mean with that boy she used to like?"

"Yeah..." Akemi closed her eyes, feeling a little headache coming on, Kazama waiting a moment before she began to slump a little, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Sorry..."

"It's fine, do you need to sit?"

"Nn... give me 20 seconds." she replied, eyes still closed. A short while later, she opened her eyes and removed herself from leaning on Soya. "Sorry, thanks..."

"Not enough sleep?"

"Probably." she nodded. "... So how have you been?"

"I've been alright..."

"Was that Mikumo boy a good opponent?"

"You heard about that?"

"Shiori was very… interested in letting me know what I'd missed over the past 3 months." she stated. "So, was he? He's in my branch after all."

"He may turn out to be a good tactician when he gets more experience." The blackette stated.

"Heh, from you that's a compliment, Soya." she said while adjusting her glasses. "He must have been pretty impressive as a tactician then." She nodded, glancing up to see Soya staring at her. "Hm? What's up?" There was a long pause before he spoke.

"So are we still a thing?"

"Haha, you have to ask?" she asked, smiling. She reached over to his hand and held it gently, almost as though she was trying to keep herself from doing more. "Of course we are, Soya… We've been together since the year you graduated." They'd gotten together about 2 months before Christmas when Soya was 18. "It sucks, keeping this a secret... Jin's the only one who knows except maybe Rindo-san... Oh, and Tachikawa..." she looked to him, then back across the hall at the wall.

"I know." he replied. "But we need to keep it quiet until things settle right? We both decided that... Plus, your family isn't exactly fond of Border." He stared at the wall with her, tightening his grip on her hand.

"Yeah, I guess…" she sighed before smiling. "So… Are you on duty tonight?"

"No, I'm off." He replied simply. "Why?"

"Let's go do something." she smiled. "Ne? Call it my present for coming back on time." She tugged at his hand a little. "Ne?" He glanced over at her, sighing before nodding.

"So long as you don't try and pay again."

"Aww come on, just let me pay."

"No." he said, turning back to her as her face set in that signature pout that he'd come to know all too well. "Stop that, it's cute." he said, pulling her face to be mere centimeters away from his. "Or I'll kiss you." Her eyes went wide for a moment before her face settled into a much calmer expression.

"... Go ahead." she whispered, the two sharing a brief kiss before separating, knowing that they shouldn't be acting like a couple of hopeless romantics here. "S-sorry."

"I-it's fine. I'll meet you at the bridge at 8 then."

"Yeah." she muttered as he turned to leave, gingerly letting go of her hand before heading off, Akemi's heart racing. She smiled though, glad that she'd gotten to see Soya and have at least a moment of time together alone. Or as alone as you could get at a place like HQ. She took a breath and headed out of the building, wandering to a grocery store before she headed home. She noticed Jin fall in alongside her as she walked the path back to Tamakoma Branch.

"You're back."

"Of course I am." She said, still carrying the grocery bags. "I said I'd be back in 3 months and I was."

"But before that you were gone for almost half a year on various missions." Jin stated. "You're not being a very good big sister-" Jin just barely dodged getting whacked in the face.

"That was rude, Jin." The stated, glaring at him over her shoulder. "Besides, Ayumi's already a B-Rank… She doesn't need me protecting her all the time." She turned and started walking again. "And Azami's fine, he's being well looked after at the hospital."

"Sorry sorry." Jin said, waving his arms infront of him in a sort of surrender. "I didn't mean you were being negligent I just meant you'd been gone a while."

"Which is why I'm going to cook tonight."

"Ooh, Akemi-san's cooking~ We haven't had that in a while." Jin nodded. "So you ran into Shuji and Soya today?"

"I'd rather not discuss that. And it's better you not bring them up."

"Yes, of course." He knew how to push her buttons but she'd never actually try and hurt him. After all Jin had been the one to step in and save her brother's life. But annoyance he knew she still harbored, so he didn't push too hard. "So… what'cha making for dinner?"

"Probably Western… I didn't buy rice."

"Oooh, we haven't had that in a while." He nodded. "Sounds good."

"By the way, is there a reason Miwa Squad's snipers are following us?"

"I don't know, maybe they're spying on you for Shuji?" Jin asked, grinning.

"Shut up, Jin."

"There's that signature phrase." He said before chuckling, moving to avoid getting hit by her punch. "Whoa, don't slug me." He grinned.

"I won't hesitate to slug you if you keep it up." She glared at him before walking ahead much faster than she had been. "Hurry up."

"You got it Ake." He caught up to her and continued talking to her.

* * *

Meanwhile on a rooftop, Toru was watching the interaction. He sighed to himself, making note of something. "Why did Miwa send us here to do this?"

"Because he likes her doesn't he? But those rumors about her dating someone in A-Rank have him all riled up so he wants to find out who."

"I really doubt it's Jin…" Toru replied to his teammate. "Besides Shohei, she obviously knows we're here."

"Sh-she does?!"

"We do too." Both boys paused, sensing someone standing just behind their sniping positions. Eita stood behind Shohei. "Yo, Kodera."

"It's not nice to spy on Akemi-senpai." Sanyo stood behind Toru. "She'll get mad."

"What are you two doing here?"

"Kagami-senpai sent us of course. To make sure Miwa receives a message." Sanyo stated. "Don't cause her trouble, she's got too much on her mind. Make sure your captain gets that." Sanyo teleported at the same time as Eita, and the pair headed back to base. Toru sighed and Kodera slumped to the ground.

"Those two are so troublesome…" Toru shook his head. "Come on Shohei, we're going back to base."

"R-right."

* * *

Akemi arrived back at base with Jin, Kagami opening the door. "Welcome back, Akemi-san."

"Good to be back, Kagami. Who's home?"

"Everyone, actually. Including the three new members Shiori told us about."

"Oh, they are? I'd like to meet them." She said, releasing the bags of groceries to Kagami as he took them off of her arms. "Thank you." Kagami nodded, heading to put the groceries away as Akemi followed him to the main area.

"Welcome home, Akemi." Shiori welcomed the girl with a smile, Reiji standing against the wall and waving to the girl.

"Welcome back." Reiji stated.

"Took you long enough, Akemi." Kirie pouted.

"Akemi, you're back early." Kyosuke stated.

"Welcome back. Raijin-maru says so too." Yotaro stated cheerfully.

"Glad to be home, everyone." She stated, looking over at the new faces in the room. "So these are the new members?"

"Y-yes." The glasses boy said. "M-my name is Osamu Mikumo, B-Rank!"

"I'm Yuma Kuga." The white-haired boy was strangely calm.

"A-and I'm Chika Amatori!" This girl was so small, she reminded Akemi of her little brother.

"Mm, I see… Well, I hope you all like western food." She stated. "Now then, while I work I'd like to hear more about you three. Please take a seat so we can talk."

"Ah, there it is, Akemi's interrogation technique!" Jin exclaimed.

"Food premonition, huh?" Kyosuke nodded.

"Shut up you two, that's not a real thing!"

"But Konami-senpai, you thought it was."

"Enough, all of you." Akemi said, pulling the knife from the wood block it rested in. "Kirie, set the table with Shiori. Reiji, please assist me with getting the serving dishes. Jin, Kyosuke, keep yourselves occupied." She stated sternly as she began her prep work for cooking. The three new faces took a seat, watching as this woman worked, answering her questions and conversing with her with the occasional comment from Jin or one of the others in Tamakoma Branch. But the afternoon was calm, and everything was nice.

After dinner Akemi headed out so she could go and meet up with Soya. She slipped past Shiori and Yotaro at the door, dodged past Kyosuke as he was walking back from his part time job, and was about a block from the bridge when she noticed Jin following her. "What now?" she asked him.

"Just checking on you, is all." Jin smiled. "You going to see Kazama-san?"

"What's it to you?"

"You know… I know you've been together a long time but is it really safe for you two to start doing that teenage lover thing at this stage?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Jin. Did you see something?" she questioned, Jin staring at her before answering.

"I did."

"Of?"

"I'm not sure, it was rather gargled. Seems like it might have been quite a few things happening in the near future." He shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps even…" he grinned. "Something scandalous?" he teased.

"Shut up… Go home." She stated, walking away from the man before she headed to the bridge, now slightly apprehensive. Her cheeks burned and she tried to get her head on straight. "He wouldn't do that… would he?" she muttered to herself. "Soya wouldn't… right?"

* * *

(Here's the first chapter, I hope you all like it ; v ;

There's no character development really but I promise to get into the backstories in the next chapter!

Reviews are always appreciated, thanks for reading~

-Winter Cheshire)


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Akemi Aihara, Tamakoma's O-Rank Squad Captain

* * *

"Soya." Akemi walked over to the blackette as he waited at the bridge, staring out at the river. She stopped about a foot short of him with a smile that was a little off as compared to normal. "Sorry I'm late." Kazama stared at her, glancing over her outfit. Black sweater, grey pants, black boots, and a blue jacket with grey fur lining. He felt the heat rise slightly to his cheeks, but it wasn't as though he was blushing.

"It's fine." He said. "Let's go." He began heading towards the shopping district with her, keeping to a reasonable pace and walking side by side with her. "You really made an impact at HQ."

"What? Really?" she asked, turning to him. "What did I do? I don't have a fan-club again do I?" Her wide eyes made her look genuinely curious. Soya covered his mouth, trying not to laugh at her expression. She crinkled her eyebrows, pouting a little. "Wait, I don't right? I don't want to deal with that again-"

"No, I mean that you have set your reputation with the lower ranking members very dangerously." He stated once he was composed again. "Mouthing off to Commander Kido right before leaving a meeting, not even bothering to excuse yourself before exiting the room, and on top of that defending your sister's so-called inexcusable conduct. That was the gist of what I heard."

"Ahh, Kinuta-san and Netsuki-san must have been talking while passing by a bunch of lower ranking agents…" she nodded, crossing her arms as she thought about it. "They never liked me much to begin with, though..." she tilted her head. "I'm probably causing trouble, but that's just how I am. I have to fight for what I believe in or I just end up as a pawn in someone's game."

"Most people don't know how to deal with you thanks to how blunt you are." He reminded her as she uncrossed her arms to walk normally again.

"But you do."

"Only because I've known you as long as I have."

"Mm… well anyway. You know Kido-san only tolerates me because of my trigger's usefulness to Border." Akemi stated as she walked alongside Kazama. "Mukou isn't something just anyone can fight… And even against other Black Triggers I'm of significant use. The only person who might have a chance at this point on their own would be Jin and Fujin, or Mikan and El."

"Even if you say that, you're still causing a stir." Kazama stated. "Everyone seems to know you after less than half a day back."

"What, worried about me?" she asked, taking his hand as they entered the shopping district. "Don't worry about it, ne?" she smiled. "I can handle myself."

"That's not what I'm worried about." He replied.

"Then what is it? You're bothered by something." She stated, looking around. "Anything in particular you want to eat?" she asked him. "I'm not picky tonight, so I'm up for whatever you want."

"I'm not picky either."

"You're avoiding the question, Soya." She said, releasing his hand and stopping in the middle of the street. She rummaged in her pocket, taking a coin out and looking at him and tilting her head a little. "Heads will be the left side of the street?"

"That's fine." He said, watching her flip the coin. Heads. "Left of the street it is." He took her hand again and walked with her along the left side of the street. "And I'm bothered because we're being followed."

"Oh, we are?" she asked. "Can you guess who?"

"Who else would know and pester us while we're trying to be alone?" he asked her, pulling her into a restaurant, stopping just inside the door and turning to see Jin and Tachikawa entering. "What do you want?"

"Aww, you don't have to be so rude, Kazama-san." Jin grinned. "We just wanted to eat at the same place, is all."

"Yeah yeah, don't get all worked up." Tachikawa nodded his head and crossing his arms. "What, afraid we'll ruin your date? We can just get separate tables."

"The restaurant's crowded, it's fine just share a booth with us." Akemi stated. Kazama was about to object but he noticed her face set in a calm, almost icy expression. They got a table, Akemi sitting next to Kazama while Jin and Tachikawa sat across. And as soon as they were comfy, Kei doubled over onto the table. Soya's eyes went wide, wondering what was wrong until he noticed Akemi's leg tap the ground. She'd kicked him under the table. "Now, as you two are being very rude and interrupting our date, you'll be paying for the meal."

"Ahaha, well I can't argue with that." Jin said cheerfully. "My Side Effect tells me we're going to be paying about 5000¥ for the 4 of us."

"Why didn't you see that she would kick me then, huh?" Kei asked, grumbling.

"Well, she'd likely have poisoned Jin's next meal if he'd told you." Soya said, picking up a menu. Akemi nodded, looking over the menu with Soya, smiling a little bit. She missed hanging out with them all this way. It reminded her of their school days.

* * *

 _Flashback:_

Akemi was walking past the school when it happened. Kei had previously grabbed Kazama and kept him from running off when Jin grabbed Akemi. The two pulled their senpais towards the shopping district, essentially making the glasses girl and the stoic blackette go on a date. Jin and Kei were very pushy with Kazama, mostly because they found it funny. Akemi and Soya were friends, and the date part was not subtle at all. But thanks to the pair of pushy underclassmen leaving them alone, Soya didn't seem to mind much so Akemi just went along for the ride. At this time, Akemi was fresh out of high school and had just become a full time Border Agent. Kazama was a 3rd year, Kei a 2nd year, and Jin a freshman. "Sorry about that." Kazama told her at the end of their outing when they were heading to Border for their afternoon practices.

"Don't worry, I know Kei and Jin are your underclassmen but I didn't expect them to work together. I thought they hated doing that. They're rivals, aren't they?"

"Normally yes but it seems they made an exception." he stated, keeping his eyes on the path ahead of them. "How are your siblings?"

"Ayu's working hard in school now, with Shuji Miwa... But she's in and out of the hospital a lot thanks to her mishaps with the Border Triggers... Azami's working hard too, but he wants to join Border when he figures out which trigger he wants to use."

"A little fast, isn't it? Isn't he still a little kid?"

"He is, but his determination is hard to argue with." She smiled, walking so her hands were behind her back, the black case she normally carried seeming so light the way she handled it. But Kazama knew it wasn't nearly so easy to hold, the thing was heavy.

"You're just too mothering to him." He said, still wanting to know what she kept in the case. He'd wanted to know ever since she started carrying it around.

"Hm, true." she smiled. "How is everything with you?"

"... Fine."

"Soya, you're lying to me." she stated, pouting at him. "That is not the face of someone who's okay." she pulled on his cheek a little. "I'm here if you need me." she switched to gently rubbing where she'd pulled, as though in apology. "You know that."

"Yeah." he mumbled, not seeming to mind her touching his face. He didn't get why, but Akemi was so kind, it made him feel better no matter what he was thinking. His heart fluttered a little, god he hated this feeling. But it was Akemi, so it was okay, wasn't it? "Akemi-senpai?"

"Hm?"

"Do you want to go on another date sometime?"

 _: Flashback End_

* * *

Soya walked with Akemi back to Tamakoma's general vicinity, not wanting to make her walk back alone. They arrived at the block over from the Branch Office when he pinned her to the wall of a nearby house. "Y-yes?" She was apprehensive thanks to Jin's previous mentioning of something "scandalous" occurring.

"Sorry... It pissed me off that Jin and Tachikawa showed up." he leaned his forehead against hers. "They both knew. Sorry, I shouldn't have been so-"

"You weren't careless... I ran into Jin a little while before I met up with you, it was my fault." she stated, petting Soya's head gently, pulling him closer to her. In order to counteract her nervousness, she put up her game face. "And if you want a kiss, please ask... I don't mind if you want to rush a little. I don't mind, so long as it's you... Soya..." But he saw right through her.

"Did Jin say something to you?"

"Ehe, is it that obvious?" she rubbed the back of her neck.

"A little… you seemed apprehensive." He muttered, leaning his forehead against her shoulder, his shoulders moving in rhythm with his breathing. "I won't push it if you aren't ready, Akemi."

"I really don't mind, so long as it's you-"

"Don't lie." He stated. "You're scared about what will happen." He looked up at her, calm again. "I trust you, Akemi, you know that."

"Yes, but I don't trust myself." She replied, her smile not reaching her eyes. Those ash-blue orbs were filled with insecurity. "But thank you…" she pulled him into a hug. "You're always looking out for me…" Kazama just stood there with her, knowing she didn't want anything to go wrong. "I… I'm sorry, I'm no good at this…"

"It's fine, Akemi." They let go after a moment before he walked her to the last block of her trip back to base. "I'll see you later."

"Okay. Thanks, Soya…" she pecked his cheek before heading off back to Tamakoma, leaving Soya with his thoughts. His heart was racing again, he hated how worked up he got with her. But he put up with it, so as not to upset the woman he loved. He let himself calm down before he headed home. Even if Akemi was the older one, she'd only ever seriously been involved with one other person. He'd used her and she was extremely cautious thanks to what had happened, and left Akemi with invisible scars so deep that Soya wasn't sure she'd ever really heal. Despite being in a relationship for almost 3 whole years, Kazama and Akemi hadn't gotten to first base yet. Kazama had asked after their first 6 months, which was when he learned about Akemi's first boyfriend. The guy broke her down physically and mentally to the point where she was afraid to even let a boy touch her, and anyone who tried to force themselves on her or even touched her without permission got beaten to a bloody pulp. That's why she was scared, she'd killed the man who'd hurt her, even if she didn't remember doing it. Kazama had been the first one since the incident that she'd allowed so close.

"Thinking about Akemi?" Kazama snapped out of his thoughts to see Jin and Tachikawa.

"So what if I am?"

"You know, if you ask her to bed she'll accept. She adores you." Tachikawa said, sighing afterward.

"Th-that's none of your concern, Tachikawa." Kazama was a little caught off guard by the sudden mention of taking Akemi to bed.

"If you keep this up you'll get frustrated with her." The kogetsu user stated.

"She isn't ready, and I don't want to scare her." He retorted, glaring at Kei. "You know what happened to her, it's perfectly reasonable for her to still be scared."

"But you DO want to, right?" Jin tilted his head at the blackette.

"Shut up."

"Ooh, you're even starting to talk alike too." Jin stated, earning another glare from Kazama. "Whoa whoa, don't glare like that. I'm just saying. Maybe ask her to spend the night or something. You don't have to push her too far but I bet she'd love the company. She just sits on the roof all night anyway, when she spends the night at base."

"Oh she does? That explains why she always looks so tired." Tachikawa said, Kazama directing his glare at the kogetsu user. "What? It's true."

"Leave it alone. I'll ask her when I think she's ready." As much as he'd wanted to go right now and ask, he would wait. He walked past the two and headed home, trying to keep himself composed.

* * *

Akemi had gone up to the roof of Tamakoma Branch after getting back from her date, staring at the stars as she lay on her back. She did not move, searching the sky for what she hoped would be an answer to resolve this fear of hers. Soya was so patient with her, it almost hurt to realize how long he'd been waiting for her. "I'm sorry." She whispered, noting her vision starting to blur. "Soya, I'm sorry…" she removed her glasses and covered her eyes with her forearm.

"If you're sorry, shouldn't you go and tell him that in person?" Akemi bolted up to see Reiji standing nearby. "Here, milk." He handed her a cup of warm milk, sitting a couple of feet away as she stared down at the cup.

"I don't know what I should do at this point."

"You shouldn't worry so much, he's waited this long for you." Reiji stated simply. "If he hasn't left you yet, he'll wait for you as long as he has to, Akemi."

"… As much as I want to believe that, I know I can't just make it go away." She shook her head. "It scares me… not just to be that close to someone, but the fact that I'm unable to bring myself to accept Soya's advances." She turned to Reiji, tears forming as she began to tremble a little. "I don't want him to be mad at me…" she sniffled and rubbed her tears away.

"He won't be." Reiji stated, looking away as she tried to dry her tears. For her to cry in front of someone else was unheard of by anyone who knew her outside of her inner circle. "Kazama isn't that kind of man, from what Jin tells me." He turned back to her as her sniffling stopped. "Jin also said he really cares about you. He may be all business on the outside, but with you, its apparently very different." Reiji took a breath, waiting for the woman to speak on the matter.

"I see…" she smiled a little, seeming calmer after hearing that information from someone like Reiji. "Do you think… that I'm just stuck in the past?"

"No, your fear is well grounded." Reiji replied. "However, if you just keep telling yourself you're scared, how can you get over it?" he asked. "If you start on a path, even if you take it really slowly, you'll get there."

"Hehe, Reiji-san is so wise." Akemi finished calming down and drank the rest of her milk. "Thanks…"

"Don't worry about it." He said, watching as she headed back downstairs. He sighed, looking up at the sky. "Ne, Kagami." The reddish-brown haired man stepped out from the shadows. "Did she happen to lose it on the away-mission?"

"Almost." Kagami replied. "But she has been trying to work on her control, and she's been much less volatile then she was when she was still a teenager."

"Well, you do know her better than anyone else at Border." Reiji stood up and headed back downstairs, Kagami following. "Must be tough, keeping her on a leash."

"It's less of a leash and more of a blanket tossed over her eyes." Kagami stated. "To keep her from going crazy and attacking anything that may pose a threat."

"Mm, must be tough. Keep up the good work."

"Of course. That's been my job for the past decade, I don't intend to stop now." He replied. "See you in the morning."

"See ya." Reiji said, watching as Kagami walked off. The man may have been calm and composed, but Reiji could tell that his friend was worried about his team leader. Akemi may have been a strong border agent, but inside she was all twisted up and hiding all sorts of insecurity. The red head sighed, heading to his room for the night. "Man, the air around here is so full of bad vibes…"

* * *

The next morning, Akemi walked along the streets of Mikado City, stopping at a house with a rather large gate. The nameplate read Aihara. She jumped over the wall, her bagworm fading as she arrived at the door. "Ayu, are you home?" The door opened and a girl with long bangs and frameless glasses stood there, a stuffed bear in hand. "… You know, you are causing serious unrest with the higher ups…" she muttered, taking in the appearance of the girl in front of her. She was not only wearing a bagworm, but she was in her border uniform. She had bags under her eyes and it appeared that she'd been crying. "… Have you kept your bagworm on since you went into hiding?"

"They tried to take him." She squeezed the stuffed bear in her arms tight, as though afraid he'd get taken. "I… I was protecting him…" she seemed to be glancing past Akemi, as though afraid someone would notice.

"I know, Ayu." Akemi reached through the door and pet the girl's head. "Come on. Let's go to base." She smiled. "Big sis will take care of everything ne?" The girl in the door looked up at Akemi, nodding slowly.

"… Only cause it's you, Akemi-nee…"

"Come on then." Akemi offered her hand to the girl. "Let's go to HQ and sort this out, Ayumi."

"… Yes, Akemi-nee… I'm sorry…" the two left the property before heading towards Border HQ. "Are they going to yell at me, Akemi-nee?"

"If they do, they'll be in for a world of hurt." Akemi said, keeping her sister close. "Now stop worrying so much. I promise to take care of it, alright?"

"… Okay."

* * *

(Here's the next chapter.

Hopefully this is a good chapter...

Reviews are appreciated, and thanks for reading~ ; u ;

-Winter Cheshire)


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Mother Bear

* * *

Akemi walked with her little sister all the way up through the base, everyone who'd heard of Akemi since the day before seeming to stare. "Akemi-nee, have you been causing more trouble?"

"Like you can talk, Ayu." The older sister sighed. "Keep walking." She added, heading up towards the meeting room she knew Kido was in. "It seems I need to remind Commander Kido about the deal he made." She stopped at the door, taking a breath before opening the door. Everyone in the room looked at her, eyes wide.

"Akemi?" Kazama looked confused, seeing the girl back at HQ. Moreover, in this meeting room, but then he noticed who was standing with her.

"I have brought my sister and her unauthorized trigger, Kido-san." She stated. "However." She added before anyone could speak. "If I may, you DID make a deal with my grandfather while he was still working as a Trigger Mechanic for Border that my sister and brother would have protection."

"Your sister activated an unauthorized trigger outside of the Forbidden Zone." Kinuta said smugly. "She is not above the rules, she has to hand it over to us."

"This is-!"

"Ayu." The younger sister froze and stopped speaking. Akemi stepped forward and turned to Ayu. "Give me Kuma." she stated to her sister. Ayumi did so very reluctantly, handing her stuffed bear off to Akemi. The glasses girl then placed Kuma on the table. "Try and pick him up." she stated to Kinuta.

"What?"

"You heard me Kinuta-san." Akemi glared his way. "Go ahead. You want him so bad, pick him up." She motioned to the stuffed bear to make her point. The man scoffed, but stood from his seat and walked over to retrieve it. But in the moment he reached for the bear, it turned its head and punched out at Kinuta, the Trion that he released smacking the man like a well-placed jab to the nose.

"Wh-what the hell is that?!" the man exclaimed, everyone's eyes going wide except for the three leaders of the organization.

"Kuma was made specifically for Ayumi by my grandfather because she is unable to use Border Triggers. When you attempt to remove him from the care of myself, my brother, or Ayumi, he retaliates with Trion he borrows from Ayumi." Akemi picked Kuma up, petting his head. "It is less that she won't give him to you and more that he refuses to be anywhere else. And on top of that, my sister doesn't always have control over Kuma, he is programmed to protect her. He occasionally comes out on his own to keep her safe from anyone coming after her, which is WHY he lashed out when she was being attacked by the Marmod." She looked to Kido again. "As you well know, Kido-san."

"Ahh, that was dangerous." Shinoda said, sighing as Rindo nodded with a smile. "I'd forgotten that Okami and Rendo had constructed Kuma so specifically."

"Rendo?" Netsuki questioned.

"Rendo Aihara, former Trion Researcher and Trigger Constructor." Rindo stated. "The grandfather of Akemi, Ayumi, and Azami, now deceased."

"He is the one who also created my Black Trigger, which only responds to myself." she added. "He hated other people gaining power when they stole it from others, so he constructed my Black Trigger so I would be the only one able to use it, as he did similarly with Kuma. However Kuma is useable my myself and Azami as well." she replied. "Now, if you're done attempting to take a Trigger that has no use to you or anyone else in the rest of Border, I'd like to take my sister home."

"… If it was Rendo's programming, I have no control over it." Kido stated, shocking the others who did not know of this agreement. "However, your sister needs to keep it in check."

"And you need to keep your priorities in check, sir." Akemi stated. "Going after Ayumi is a waste of resources for you." She added. "Sending Kazama and his group is pointless now, so you might as well let him leave as well." She smiled a little. Kido remained silent, dismissing the blackette with a wave of his hand. Kazama bowed his head before getting up and heading out with Akemi and Ayumi. As soon as they were out the door and down the hall, Ayumi bowed deeply to her sister and Kazama.

"I-I'm so sorry, Akemi-nee! Kazama-senpai!" she exclaimed.

"I don't blame you, Ayu." Akemi sighed, Kazama nodding in agreement. "Kuma on the other hand." Akemi pat the bear's head.

"I was doing as instructed." The bear spoke without his mouth moving. "Rendo-san said above all else that I was to keep Ayumi-ojousama safe."

"Kuma, I understand that, but Ayumi's an agent of Border, there are rules for her to follow. Unauthorized triggers are-"

"I'm not unauthorized, and I'm not a trigger."

"No, you're a machine programmed with Trigger Chips and Trion Soldier tech in a fluffy bear body." Akemi sighed. "But please, don't act out unless you absolutely must." She scolded the bear. "I want you to protect my sister, but you have to choose your moments."

"Understood, Akemi-ojousama."

"Good boy." She rubbed the bear's head before handing him back to her little sister. "Ayu, take Kuma to Azami before you go to your afternoon training okay? And make sure you get your homework from Shuji."

"Y-yes, Akemi-nee!" Ayumi bowed again before rushing off. Kazama looked to Akemi after the youngest of the three was gone.

"Your sister's bear is a Trion Soldier?"

"No, just made with their tech, like Triggers." She replied, turning to him. "Kuma's also, however, programmed to act a lot like me. Stubborn and determined."

"Well I suppose it's better that way isn't it?" he asked. "That way he'll protect Ayumi just as viciously as you will."

"Hah, so I'm vicious all of a sudden?" she smiled at him. "Anyway, do you want to go and spar? I do owe you a fight after all."

"Oh? That would be a nice way to pass the time." Kazama stated. "Let's go."

* * *

The sparring match was over and Akemi was sitting and waiting for Kazama at the vending machines. She looked at the options and wondered what she would get for herself when a hand reached past her and placed a coin in the slot. "Which one?"

"Eeeh, I was supposed to pay for you, Soya. I won 7 matches."

"You were supposed to win 80%. You're one short."

"That's cause you caught me by surprise on the last round with that Chameleon tactic." She pouted at him, making him chuckle under his breath. "It's not funny."

"It just means you need to figure out how I did it."

"Buu buu." She continued to pout as Kazama chose her favorite juice form the machine and handed it to her. "… Thanks." She continued to pout while he got himself a can of soda.

"You're welcome." There'd been a strange tension between the two since their last meeting, so he wanted to get her comfortable again, but as to how he wasn't sure yet. He was thinking about it when he realized she'd stood up and was now face to face with him. "… You're tempting me."

"And… if that's what I want?" she asked, her gaze averted. "I'm still scared… but if it's you, I can at least try, right?" she asked, looking up at him. "Soya… I want to be able to tell you that I want us to move forward… but for now, please..." she took his hand, leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Please put up with my silly little attempts at making my way to the starting line." She said softly, Kazama's eyes widening a little and his cheeks getting warm. She actually made the first move this time, which shocked him. But… it meant she was willing to try, even if only in tiny steps.

"… Okay." He replied, squeezing her hand. "So long as this is really what you want, I'll put up with whatever the hell I have to."

"Oooh, what do we have here?" Tachikawa walked over, causing the two to pull apart from one another and avoid looking at the tall kogetsu-wielder. "Are you two finally going public with your relationship?"

"Sh-shut up, Kei." Akemi said, face tinting red from her embarrassment. "What do you want?"

"Nothing, just thought I'd say hi since I noticed you two." He grinned, buying himself a can of something cold to drink. "I had heard Ayumi was here too, but I haven't seen her."

"If you so much as look at her wrong, I'll slug you in the face." Akemi glared at him immediately.

"Whoa whoa easy I'm not after her." Kei said, almost flinching at the thought of being punched in the face. "I know you want her to pair off with Miwa, but you're not exactly setting them up. They're both too oblivious, so you gotta push them together like Jin and I did with you and Kazama."

"That's a terrible idea." Kazama stated.

"But it got you two together, didn't it?" Kei asked. "Anyway." He sipped at his drink. "You two have fun being all cutesy and lovey-dovey in public. Kazama-san, take her to bed already!" He said cheerfully, chugging the rest of his drink before running off to avoid Akemi's retaliation to the comment. Akemi, however, stood there with a shocked expression, her face turning bright red as she turned away and hid behind her hands, trying to calm down and not hyperventilate.

"A-akemi are you okay?"

"K-kei, that no good-! I-I'll beat his face in next time I see him!" she stated, trying not to let herself get too panicked. "I-I'll beat him up, even without a Trigger!"

"Yes yes." Kazama said, rubbing her back to calm her down. Once she was over what Tachikawa had said, the two headed to the hospital area of Border HQ. Kazama let Akemi lead, watching her navigate like she was on auto-pilot and stopping when she found the room she was looking for. She opened the door and peeked her head in. "Ah, you're awake. Good." She opened the door. There in the bed sat a boy with shaggy brown hair and light blue eyes, Ayumi at his side.

"Nee-sama." The boy smiled a little. "And Kazama-senpai too…" he bowed to Kazama as he walked into the room after Akemi. "Thank you for taking the time to visit me."

"It's not a big deal." Kazama said, taking a seat near Akemi as she gave the boy a big bear hug. "Your sister has ingrained it into me already, to make sure you're doing okay."

"Has she? I'm sorry about that. Nee-sama is very much a mother bear, thanks for putting up with her." He bowed his head to the man.

"Oi oi, that sounds like I'm troublesome." Akemi pouted at her brother after she released her grip on the hug. "Don't be mean…"

"It's true though." This made the oldest sibling pout more.

"Ehehe, Akemi-nee can't argue with Azami." Ayumi smiled. "Ne, Kuma?" The bear nodded his head. "She's too mothering." Akemi seemed to be playfully going along with the teasing, but Kazama knew why she behaved that way. Since her parents vanished a decade before, she had taken over the parent role for her siblings, even in their grandfather's care. And when he made Akemi's Black Trigger, she became even more like a mother to her siblings. Kazama had known her since she was a 1st year in middle school, so he remembered much of this well.

"Anyway, Kazama-senpai." Azami spoke up, catching the man's attention. "Have you and Nee-sama made it to first base?"

"A-aza, don't talk about it!"

"No, not yet." Kazama replied. "But hopefully we'll work our way there in the near future."

"Ooh, sounds promising." Azami nodded, Akemi at a loss for words as she tried to comprehend the conversation her 14 year old brother and her boyfriend were having. "Nee-sama should hurry up and get married to Kazama-senpai."

"Now now, Azami, don't rush Akemi-nee. They aren't even an official couple in the public eye. It might be odd to have them suddenly sending out marriage invitations." Ayumi smiled, knowing that her older sister was on the verge of a full blown panic attack.

"But they ca just elope." Azami stated.

"As much as I'd approve, I DO want to see Akemi-nee in a wedding dress of some type." Ayumi said with a chuckle at the end. The younger female looked to Kazama, who was now looking away so as to avoid looking at Akemi and making the situation more awkward. "Well, I'm going to head out to grab something to eat before I go to afternoon practice." She stood up, smiling as she placed Kuma on Azami's lap. "Akemi-nee, if you need to borrow the house just let me know and I'll go borrow your room at Tamakoma." She winked at her sister before heading out.

"M-mou!" Akemi hid her face in her hands. "Why is everyone on my case about it today?"

* * *

"Are you okay now?" Kazama asked as he and Akemi sat together at the window counter of a fast food place along the way back to Tamakoma Branch.

"Yeah, sorry about all that." She stated, looking a little put out. "I didn't mean to get you involved in all that stuff…"

"It's not a big deal, your siblings only make fun of you because they love you." Soya said, sitting down with her, carrying their tray of two combo meals. "Besides, it was my fault for answering Azami the way I did… I should have known he would pull that sort of thing."

"Ehe, well that makes me feel better." she smiled a little. "This kind of makes me feel like we're in high school again." she said, watching him separate her order from his and leaving her the tray. "We haven't gone for a burger date in a while."

"It's not like it's anything special." he mumbled, cheeks tinting pink as he unwrapped his burger and took a bite. "It's just burgers and fries."

"But it's time with you, so it is special." Akemi said with a smile, Soya almost choking on his burger. "Ah, s-sorry!"

"Idiot." he mumbled, averting his gaze again after recovering. "D-don't say it like that, it's weird..."

"Ahaha, I'm sorry Soya~" she said, bowing apologetically to him in her chair. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Just eat your food please." he muttered, trying to calm down from her statement. She always said stuff like that and even though he'd heard it all before, it still embarrassed him coming from Akemi. The two continued their meal in peace, chatting about simple things that they didn't get the chance to talk about anymore, reminiscing about their school days and when everything was still okay. Before the Neighbors invaded Mikado City. But they knew that wouldn't last, something was coming. Commander Kido had brought it up already to Kazama, but Akemi seemed to know too. A large-scale invasion was coming, and Yuma was going to be made to cooperate with Border, giving them information on the Neighbors.

"So, Soya…"

"Hm?"

"If it's not too much trouble… perhaps sometime soon we can try spending the night together?" she asked. "It doesn't really matter which one of our place's we go to, though…"

"… You really want to? That's not moving too fast for you?" he asked. "I don't know how well I can control myself if we're alone together in one of our homes." He warned.

"That's okay." She stated, unwrapping her burger. "I don't mind, so long as I can make you happy."

"… idiot." He muttered, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks. "I'm supposed to be making you happy too…" he finished the rest of his burger, trying to hide his embarrassment and slight happiness that she was trying so hard for him. "When?"

"Mm, depends on when you work."

"I have early shift tomorrow so it's probably a bad idea to do it tonight." He muttered, seeming almost disappointed at the thought of not being able to enact the plan as soon as possible.

"Mm, then how about tomorrow?"

"… If you don't mind that." He stated.

"Not at all." She smiled, taking a french fry and placing it to his mouth. "Ne, say aah."

"O-oi, what are you…?"

"Please?" she pleaded, pouting a little. Kazama sighed, swallowing his pride before eating the fry she offered him. "Yay, now it feels more like we're being a cutesy couple." She said cheerfully, Kazama smiling ever so slightly. So long as she was happy.

* * *

Soya and Akemi were walking back to Tamakoma after his meeting. Kido had called Yuma in and he explained to them about the Neighborhood. Well, technically Replica had. But it was done, and after Akemi and Soya had some instant ramen for dinner with Azami, Soya was walking her back to base. The pair had a nice chat about simple things, but as they stopped for some warm drinks, the mood changed. Kazama hovered over Akemi as she leaned against the wall across from the vending machines, the two ending up staring at one another. There was a short silence before Soya apologized, leaning in and stealing a few short, hasty kisses from the girl. The kissing stopped for a moment, the only noise aside from the hum from the machines being their hearts racing.

"Is this alright?"

"I just said it was earlier, didn't I?" she smiled, meeting his gaze. "If you would prefer, we can just-"

"I have duty early tomorrow." He reminded her.

"Aww that's no fun." she teased, nuzzling against Soya's cheek as an attempt to get more comfortable with showing him affection. "Okay, maybe next time." she added, pausing before leaning in and giving him a soft, lingering kiss on the lips. "Thank you for being so patient... I missed you, while I was gone..."

"I missed you too..." he seemed to be holding back a little, as though not wanting to let on what Akemi already knew he was thinking. "So, tomorrow?"

"Of course." she hugged him tight, squeezing as though attempting to give him all her love. "Goodnight, Soya." she said as she let go.

"Goodnight, Akemi." he replied, letting her head back to her base before he turned to leave. He took in the moment for a while, wondering how far things would get. He finished his drink before tossing the can to the rubbish can, turning to head home. He turned the corner, eyes widening as he saw Jin. "Shit, how long were you-?"

"Not long." he replied, grinning. "You and Ake are so cute~" he teased, Kazama averting his gaze and hoping desperately that he wasn't blushing. He dealt with Jin's antics the whole way back to HQ, the two having the same meeting to report to for their next assignment. But once at HQ, Jin stopped mentioning Akemi by name, just grinning like an idiot. Tachikawa joined in on it when he realized the situation. It was going to be a LONG night for Kazama. But he had something to look forward to, so he would put up with it.

* * *

(And here's chapter 3 ; v ;

Just wanted to get it out now, cause I might get busy soon.

Reviews are loved, thanks for reading~ Look forward to next time~

-Winter Cheshire)


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Peaceful Mornings

* * *

It was early when Akemi woke up for the day, the girl having some errands to run. She had to check on Azami, see if Ayumi was improving with her trigger-usage, grocery shop so she could make Kazama some katsu curry rice, spar with Tachikawa, go to a meeting with Kido, and that was all just in the morning. She stretched, just glad that she had the night off thanks to her promise to Soya, and got up to go and start her day. "Oh, I might as well go to the house and check on things…" she told herself. "Mm, all these things I have to do…" she muttered to herself as she headed down from her room to the kitchen. "Good morning."

"Morning, Akemi~" Shiroi was making bento with all the things Reiji made. "Want one?"

"Mm, can I have 2? I'm going to see Azami later this morning."

"Sure, I'll make 2." She grinned. "You sure you don't want 3?" she asked, adjusting her glasses with a grin. Shiori was the only one who ever made fun of Akemi being with Kazama that didn't know they were actually going out.

"You're ridiculous, Shiori…"

"Aww come on I just want to have someone take them…"

"Just give me a box of the gyoza then, I'll eat them plain and give the bento to Soya." She stated simply. Her expression never let on the truth when Shiori made fun of her due to it being so tame compared to Jin or Tachikawa. "Do we still have sweet chili sauce?" she asked, going into the fridge and pulling out the bottle. "Mm, this should be good." She nodded, going to get a container for the sauce so she could bring it with her.

"Here." Shiori handed Akemi the bento boxes and the extra gyoza. "So will you be home tonight?"

"Nope."

"Oooh, spending the night with someone~?"

"See you tomorrow, Shiori." Akemi said as she headed out, avoiding the girl's question.

* * *

Azami was sitting in his bed reading when Akemi showed up. "Oh, you're here early…"

"I did ask you to be awake for a reason." She stated. "Come on, you and I are going on a walk."

"Oh, a walk? This is the first time in a while you've had the time."

"Yeah well~" she chuckled. "Come on, let's go." Akemi said, Azami nodding in response and getting up to follow her. He was a little shaky, but he was able to walk on his own, he just had to take it slow. Akemi always thought about what could have been done to prevent this happening, but there was nothing. She'd been on an away mission about 2-months into Azami's first year as a Border agent. He had lost his Trigger when a Trion Soldier snuck up on him on his way home, leaving him unable to defend himself. He'd been slammed into a wall, and though his injuries weren't leaving him in danger of death he was unable to move much. He'd been saved by a B-Rank Squad on patrol and rushed to the hospital. Akemi was devastated by this, as was Ayumi. However Akemi's reaction was much more extreme and she took it upon herself to not only pay all her brother's medical bills alone despite only being 19, but she also took it upon herself to help training her brother about the tactical methods and weaponry of Border where no one else would. He was still C-Rank though, thanks to his injuries having prevented him from doing anything to further his status at Border. But he knew the Triggers inside and out and could think of strategies to fight any and every situation.

"So what's today's scenario?" Azami asked his sister.

"Another, huh?"

"You come up with the best ones." He replied.

"Mm… then…" she pondered. "Let's say that there are about 5 marmods coming, you have only 1 B-Rank squad and 10 C-Rank Agents. You are in the middle of the battle; you've lost the B-Ranks except the sniper, though they've taken 2 of the marmods already. Your next move is?"

"Aside from calling for help?"

"No comms."

"Oh… then…" Azami pondered for a moment. "If there are 3 left, I'd assume the sniper would handle one while the C-Ranks keep it distracted. Whoever's fastest will play decoy and the sniper will take out one marmod. One squad of 3 C-Ranks will distract one of the other marmods and the remaining 6 C-Ranks will converge on the last marmod, taking it out quickly so long as they are of appropriate level." He stated. "Once two are down, the third will hopefully be easier to take out with all of them on it at once, assuming no one gets incapacitated and thrown out of battle."

"Oh, not using the wildcard today?"

"I can only use it once a month, I used it when Ayumi-nee came to visit the other day. She gave me a really impossible one, but she made me include myself."

"So?"

"So my Wildcard was you." He stated. "Cause if you're here at home, you always come to save me." Those words stung Akemi's heart a little, her brother saw no wrong in her having been gone. He still trusted her so much, she wasn't even sure she could live up to it anymore. But she just ruffled his hair as they continued to walk. "Shall we stop at the vending machines?"

"Only if you buy me some soda."

"Of course. I brought some food too, for later if you want it."

"Sure. Who made it?"

"Shiori made the rice, Reiji-san made the protein."

"Oh, sounds good." Azami nodded.

* * *

Akemi's next stop after dropping her brother back at his room was the sniper's range. She took a look at the surrounding area, not seeing anyone familiar until her eyes landed on a man with greyish-white hair and green eyes. "Kou." The man was looking over some papers at the moment. He looked up at Akemi.

"Oh, Akemi." He waved. "What's up?"

"Sorry to bother you, do you happen to have Ayu's evaluations from the past 6 months?"

"Oh, yeah, hold on a second." He stated, looking around and rummaging through his stack of paper before handing her a folder. "Here, 6 months worth of evals."

"Thanks. Sorry to trouble you with doing this." She said, accepting the file.

"It's fine. I'm training her with the Border Triggers before she moves over to Tamakoma, so…"

"Even so, she still doesn't have a squad that she can work well with…" she sighed. "I'm thankful Tsubame accepted her into his squad, though… At least he understands that she works better when she can just set up her nest and listen to communication 80% of the time…" As she read over the papers, she stopped to look at Kou. "How does her training seem to be going?"

"As compared to her scores last year, she's improved about 55%... but her scores in the past month are rising to about 50% better than the previous 5. She's definitely trying hard." He replied, sipping at a can of tea. "Her accuracy is good, but her range needs work, and her location speed changes are a little slow still but her power shots make up for it in almost every situation."

"Mm… well at least she's working hard." Akemi nodded, closing the folder and handing it back to Kou. "Thanks, I seriously can't repay you enough for helping Ayu this much."

"It's fine, Akemi. And by the way, you're going to be late to your meeting." He motioned to his watch.

"Ah, really? Damn, I'll buy you a drink next time we go somewhere." She said, turning on a heel and rushing out to her meeting.

* * *

Kido was waiting for Akemi in the meeting room, the girl walking over to the table. "Commander Kido."

"Akemi." He motioned to the chair. "Sit. You have something to discuss with me?"

"I do… about Azami and Ayumi." She stated. "And about the promise you made my grandfather while he was still alive." Kido nodded, seeming to have expected this situation. "Now, to begin." She stated, pulling out what looked like a flash drive.

* * *

Tachikawa was waiting for Akemi at the booths, having reserved one for their fight. "Oh, an audience?" she asked him. "This isn't like you, why do you want a public fight?"

"I just thought it would be nice for these kids to have something to aspire too. Especially the young ladies who obviously would love to look up to someone like you." He smiled. "Your little fan-club has expanded."

"I don't want it to, though." She mumbled.

"Well it has." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Now come on, let's fight."

"Alright, alright." She replied. "All out? I won't be using Mukou, though."

"That sounds good." Tachikawa nodded. "I'll have a less public match with you if you want to use Mukou some other time." He added, knowing that her trigger was a well-guarded secret at Border. "So, let's get this started."

* * *

As Akemi was leaving HQ and heading to check on her house, she noticed a growling noise coming from what to anyone else would have seemed like nowhere. "Don't complain Mukou…" she muttered as she walked through the Forbidden Zone. "I know you're hungry but I can't take Trion from my fellow Border Agents." Another growl came forth. "You're so impatient…" she sighed. "I'll feed you when I fight a Trion Soldier again." she stated. "Now stop acting up." There was one last growl before it got quiet again and Akemi continued on her way. She made her way out of the Forbidden Zone and wandered along to the shopping district, picking up some lunch for herself and Ayumi who was going to be at the house at the same time as Akemi this afternoon thanks to her patrol times.

* * *

Akemi was about to lock up her house when the alarms went off around Mikado City. "Ahh this is no good…" Akemi mumbled as she climbed up onto her roof, seeing all the gates opening around the city as her sister joined her. "Trigger On!" Now in her Trion Body, she materialized her bullet cubes as she looked around. All sorts of Trion Soldiers were appearing out of nowhere. Bamsters, Marmods, the whole party was there. She sighed, looking over her shoulder at her sister as the younger girl hugged onto her little guardian. "Keep her safe, Kuma."

"Understood, Akemi-ojousama." Kuma saluted the older sister before she jumped off the roof, heading towards the center of the action. She knew this invasion started meant two things for her specifically. It meant that she'd have to fight to keep the Trion Soldiers from the populated areas of the city, but it also meant that she and Soya would have to cancel.

"And just when I was getting comfortable about all this too." She grumbled, coming across a small swarm of Marmods and taking them out with a single blast of Asteroid. "How bothersome…" she muttered, blocking a shot from another group of incoming Marmods. "Ahh, so many bugs in my way, so little time to destroy them all…" she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, at least I get to get my work out for the afternoon." She continued to wipe out Marmods, instructing anyone who passed her by to go ahead and search for more when she heard some orders come in over the communication line. C-Ranks were evacuating, B-Ranks were to focus on one area at a time starting with the places that hadn't been evacuated yet. But what worried her was the sheer amount of Trion Soldiers. "Shinoda-san, this is Aihara from Tamakoma Branch, O-Rank." She stated as she got a break in the waves of Marmods. "I need to request assistance at least 1 or 2 heavy-hitting snipers. There are a large grouping of Bamsters and Marmods heading my way and I don't think I can handle all these Marmods at the same time without missing a few and chancing them getting past me. Though they're still a ways off so I don't need someone who's already super close by."

"Understood, Aihara. We'll send you some backup." Shinoda replied to her. "Anything else in the immediate area that you can see? Any other agents in distress?"

"Not that I am aware, sir, but I-" Akemi was cut off by a scream, the girl turning to see something happening nearby. "What the hell-?!" soon, a report came in, a new type of Trion Soldier. She watched as the chest plates closed down over something. She realized a moment later that it had been a person. "… It's… capturing out agents?" she asked, suddenly concerned. What WAS this thing? As soon as it happened, she began hearing other reports of the new Trion Soldier from other areas of the battle. "Crap, they're attacking Trigger Controllers…" she noticed the thing searching around, searching for more targets. "This is Aihara from Tamakoma. Does anyone have more information on these things?" she asked. "I've encountered one of the new-types and it just consumed a B-Rank agent-"

"Aihara, this is Kazama." Akemi heard Kazama's voice over the communication line. That meant they weren't too far away from each other. "Sending you information on the new-type. We're engaging in combat now."

"Thanks, Kazama." She replied, smiling a little and feeling happy that he was talking to her. She received the information, checking it over. "Mm, close range is the most dangerous then… But once in range escape might be hard…"

"Close combat might be the only solution, it's very fast."

"Oh is it? Then close combat it is." She nodded. "Thanks, Kazama." She added before contacting HQ again. "Kido-san, this is Aihara, Akemi. I'm engaging the new type, but I would like permission to activate Mukou should it come to that." She stated.

"… Permission granted."

"Thank you, Kido-san." Akemi stated simply, hanging up the connection. "Here we go…" she jumped at the creature from where she stood, watching it turn to her before her kick made contact and knocked it back. But it had covered its "eye", so Akemi went back in for another hit. "Asteroid!" she fired it from almost point blank, only to get flung away. Though she managed to land on a nearby roof, she was surprised at how far she'd gone. She shook her head and jumped back down towards the "Rabit" as it was being called, and activated Asteroid with both hands, blowing the creature back but not breaking through. "Mm, really tough huh?" she asked, tilting her head. "Oh well, I can break it down if I do this…" she materialized another cube, but this one was glowing much brighter. "Meteor!" The bullets all fired, but all aimed for the same spot on the Rabit's face and cracked its armor. Akemi took the chance and before she was flung off, she kicked through the cracked area and impacted the eye with such force that it broke in half. "One down." She said, pulling her foot out and letting the Rabit fall to the ground. "Now let's see…" she looked over the creature before she reached to open the chest plates. But when she did, there was only a cube. The kid she'd seen get swallowed was nowhere. "What the hell?" she asked.

* * *

"One more…" The shot rang out and Ayumi sighed, retracting her trigger so she could change location again. "Ake-nee should be in this general area so…" she looked around, calling in to HQ. "Shinoda-san, this is Aihara of Tsubame Squad from HQ, B-Rank. I heard there was a request for Snipers, shall I report to Aihara of Tamakoma as her backup?"

"Aihara, where is your squad?"

"Tsubame-san went to take out some Bamsters that were forming a group near the edge of the civilian areas nearest the evacuation points that are backed up. Hinata-san was at HQ when it started, I believe he set up a sniper nest near to HQ to take out as many newly-arrived targets as he could."

"… Understood, join your older sister. We'll send someone else to back her up soon-" the transmission began to cut out.

"Shinoda-san?" Ayumi wondered what was wrong, looking up to realize what it was. Ilgars, the giant bomber Trion Soldiers were on their way to HQ. Ayumi wanted to take aim but she was too far away. She couldn't make that shot it was at least 400 meters. But as she watched, she heard someone behind her, turning to see someone she'd only ever heard about from Akemi. His orange hair tinted on the ends in black, his bright green eyes relaxed, and his Ibis at the ready. O-Rank of Shinoda's Branch, Torakichi Akiko.

"Shinoda-san, this is Tora." He stated as he set up his sniper nest. "I'll be taking down two of those Ilagrs."

"Tora! There you are!" Ayumi could hear the communication because she was so close. "Understood, please take them down quickly!" The man didn't respond, simply smiling at Ayumi before taking aim at the creatures. Without hesitation, he shot off a huge power-shot which took down the first Ilgar. Not long after, the second one went down in the same fashion.

"That's all I can hit with this range and power, Shinoda-san."

"It's fine, thanks for the help!"

"… Tora… san?" Ayumi asked.

"Ohh, you must be Ayumi?" The man grinned, retracting his weapon. "Akemi's told me about you, you're a sniper right?"

"Y-yes!"

"Tora-san, I found that new type outside and shot it down- … Oh, Ayumi…" The green-eyed man waved to the girl.

"Kou-senpai!"

"Oh that's right, Akemi went to school with Kou…" Tora nodded. "Anyway, where are you headed kid?"

"I was going to go and help Akemi-nee… She requested some heavy hitting snipers so since I shoot on Ibis I thought I'd go help her."

"Ooh good idea." Tora nodded. "Kou, go with her. I'm gonna stay in the general area so I can take a bunch of shots at the oncoming enemies."

"Understood, Tora-san." Kou nodded. "Ayumi, lead the way."

"Okay!" she nodded, heading out with the man.

* * *

(The beginning of the Invasion! o A o

Next time, look forward to seeing Akemi's Black Trigger!

Reviews are still loved, thanks for reading!

-Winter Cheshire)


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Mukou the Bottomless Pit

* * *

Akemi was leveling the Trion Soldiers left and right for a while until she noticed something. "Oh, Tamakoma's finally out to play." She nodded. "Good good… I wonder…" A transmission came through before she could continue her thoughts.

"Akemi-senpai, where are you?"

"Sanyo, don't be rude."

"Both of you shut up. Akemi-san, are you alright?"

"Sanyo, Eita, Kagami. I'm fine on my own right now, don't worry." She stated. "Sanyo, your trigger will be most useful while protecting the civilians, go and help out the C-Ranks with evacuation please."

"I wanted to help Akemi-senpai fight…" he grumbled. "But I'll listen." He added.

"Thanks, Sanyo. Eita, I need you to assist in taking down all these Trion Soldiers, so just keep doing what you're doing."

"Roger, captain."

"Kagami. Go help get rid of the new types. I still don't know what they're after but it can't be anything good."

"Understood, Akemi-san."

"Good. Shinoda-san, is this alright?"

"It's fine, Akemi. Your planning is spot on. I'm sorry for splitting you up though." Shinoda replied from HQ.

"It's not a big deal… of the 3 O-Rank Squads, our teamwork is likely the worst." Akemi replied. "Eita reacts to everything faster than the rest of us… Sanyo's hell-bent on working together with me but will listen when told otherwise… Kagami's constantly trying to be my bodyguard… In terms of teamwork, we have little coherency outside of strategizing." She stated. "That's all for now, Aihara, out." As the connection dropped, Akemi looked around. What was there to do now? The fights were progressing all around, but Akemi was essentially just standing there. "I have nothing to do… how boring."

"Well then let me change that." Akemi's eyes went wide and she whipped around to see a Humanoid Neighbor. She didn't understand how they'd snuck up on her, but she managed to block an attack that could have taken her out in one shot. Akemi was flung against a wall, and as she was about to escape something stabbed her through the stomach. A blade. She didn't understand how they'd gotten to her so easily, but whoever they were, they were fast. Faster than she'd fought in a long time. "Oooh, you're not bad looking." The man was wearing a black cloak with red circles running down one side. He had two small white horns on his head and a sick grin on his face. "I think you'd do well as a trophy…" he laughed. He removed his sword without coming too close to the girl, as though knowing she was dangerous. "Congrats, you took out plenty of our soldiers pretty fast. But now you're gonna get stuck doing nothing." He was about to stab her again when a shot flew at his face, causing him to instead block and back up.

"Akemi-nee, are you okay?"

"Ayu…?"

"Akemi, hurry up and switch triggers."

"Kou?"

"It's dangerous for you to stay there." Kou replied from his nest. "Ayumi's moving already, hurry up and get out of there."

"… Right." Akemi got up and pulled back to a reasonable distance. But as she was about to change triggers, she saw a shot go off and someone bailed out. It couldn't have been Kou, so...

"Oh, looks like the little one who shot me just got shot back." The Neighbor laughed. "Too bad so sad. She might've been fun to play with too." He stated, shrugging. Akemi's eyes suddenly narrowed into a glare. "Ohh, was she one of your friends or something? That might have been kind of cute… Maybe I'll just go after her and take her as a-" He paused, a shot blasting off the corner of his shoulder as he dodged. Akemi's glare was dangerously sharp, you could tell just by glancing at her how angry she was.

"Mukou. Wake up." Akemi stated, her energy suddenly changing. The black uniform she wore with her Border Trigger changed into a more casual look, the tips of her hair tinting white. "I'm about to give you a feast Mukou; be thankful." she added, rolling her shoulders. "You." She looked back up at the person who just shot Ayumi out of battle. "You're about to be in a world of hurt for what you did to my sister." Her ash blue eyes were now electric and much sharper than they had been.

"Sister, huh? Hah, we'll see how well you fare against me with that injury!" The man charged at Akemi, aiming once more for her Trion Supply, but a shot rang out and he embedded the blade back in her stomach wound. "Hoh, another sniper?" he asked.

"Thanks, Kou." Akemi said, grabbing the blade on one of the edges that stuck out from the main body of the blade. The man tried to let go, but Akemi had grabbed his arm as well.

"You got it?"

"Of course. Though if you could handle those oncoming Bamsters I'd appreciate it." She replied.

"Got it."

"You won't get a chance!" The man stated, about to fire a shot at Kou, but he was unable. "What the-?!"

"Heh, big mistake." Akemi said, her smile seeming very smug. The blade was embedded in her stomach, but it had been over 10 seconds. The opponent's Trigger suddenly vanished, the man dropping to the ground. Akemi sighed, watching as the uniform of the person in front of her changed to what looked like normal clothes. But soon his body began to partially dissolve too. "You're done." she stated simply. Akemi rolled her shoulders as the Bamsters in the distance went down. "I'd forgotten how much you love eating, Mukou." she stated, looking around for more enemies. "But then again, it's good that you have a monstrous appetite sometimes..."

"Akemi, the humanoid neighbor went down?"

"Yeah, I'll report to HQ in a sec." she replied as she got information on Kazama's Bail Out. "… Soya too, huh? Damn, that's no good…" she muttered. She noticed a small portal appear. "You realize it yet?" she asked the portal. "Your friend here is done." The portal widened and a woman with short hair and small black horns. "I suggest you leave." Akemi stated, glaring. "Mukou's still hungry, so if you don't want to end up like that." She stated. The woman smiled a little but the portal closed up. Akemi sighed and stopped for a moment, noting that the little black band on the man's arm was gone. "Must've been his trigger." She told herself as she thought about what could have happened. The woman? Possibly, but this whole situation was no good. Even now she felt Mukou acting up. "What is it, you troublesome thing?" She heard an incoming transmission.

"Akemi!"

"Shiori?"

"There is a humanoid Black-Trigger user invading base!" Akemi's eyes went wide at the mention of this.

"Black Trigger…? The one who beat Kazama?" she asked.

"Unconfirmed. I understand you're doing work out there but-!"

"Shiori-san, I'll take care of the area Akemi was handling." Kou stated. "Akemi, go… You have important things to protect at HQ."

"Understood… Thanks, Kou." Akemi replied as she began heading back to base as fast as she could. "I'm on my way there now." She replied. "… Did Azami get evacuated?"

"Thing is, he was no longer in his bed when we started the evacuation." Shiori replied. "He clocked out this morning for a walk and never came back, so the nurses said."

"Damn it… Aza, where did you go?" Akemi muttered as she rushed back to HQ. "Ayumi… Azami… don't do anything reckless."

* * *

Ayumi was at base, hearing about what was happening with the Black Trigger that had invaded. She materialized Kuma and hugged onto him. "Kuma, what do I do?" The bear did not answer her, instead patting her shoulder with his paw. "… I'm not of much use though…"

"Ayumi."

"Ah, Kazama-senpai!" Ayumi.

"Come."

"Oh, okay…" She followed Kazama into the room where his operator, Kaho, was. "Oh, Kaho-chan!"

"Ayu~ Welcome back." Kaho smiled.

"Don't use Kuma." Kazama stated. "If something happens to you, Akemi's going to go crazy."

"B-but Azami is still-!"

"What about me, Ayu-nee?"

"Kya!" Ayumi jumped at the sudden voice, turning to see her brother. "A-azami! Where were you?!"

"I was here talking to Kaho… Jin-san told me to stay here and assist with analyzing stuff." He sipped at his soda. "You should've taken that other route, by the way. That's why you got caught."

"Don't lecture me." Ayumi pouted, grabbing her brother's cheeks and pulling on them. "I've only been a sniper for 8 months, I'm still trying to learn all the ins and outs!"

"Ih wah a johke." (It was a joke).

"Buu buu Aza's a meanie!" she continued to pull on his cheeks. "And don't scare me like that! Akemi-nee must be panicking!"

"… But that means she'll get back faster, right?" Azami asked. "Isn't that better?"

* * *

Akemi rushed past the piles of enemies she'd been taking out along the way. She had recalled Mukou, using only her Border Trigger for these fights. Not one was left standing, and she was only scratched or slightly damaged. "Crap, you're getting to be outrageous… I can't keep up this pace. You're eating too much Trion…" she muttered, feeling unwell. "Ah, it's already no good…" Akemi grumbled, feeling at the edge of her Trion limit already thanks to the injury. "Bail Out." She stated, annoyed that she had hit her limit so early. She landed at HQ, since her Border Trigger was not from Tamakoma. "Gotta get stronger…" she muttered. "Especially if I need to feed this bottomless pit that the old man stuck me with…"

"Akemi-san…?"

"Oh, Kaho-chan." The glasses-wearing woman waved at the operator. "Sorry, I had to borrow your port."

"A-akemi-nee had to Bail Out?" Ayumi asked, shocked.

"It's only cause of Mukou- Hey what are you even doing here?" Akemi asked her sister. "Ah, Azami too." She pouted. "You did that on purpose so I'd hurry back…" she stated.

"Sorry, Nee-sama…"

"It's fine, Aza." Akemi sighed. "I guess it was better this way than me getting stranded out there in the middle of another fight… Is Soya around?"

"Here." Soya walked over, placing a can of coffee in her hand.

"Oh, there you are." She stated, smiling. "So is it going well or…?"

"Suwa was just brought back, he's engaging the Black Trigger that invaded."

"What, really?" she asked, noting that he was still in his regular outfit. "… Still not ready?" she took his hand, Kazama's eyes going wide as she leaned in and kissed him gently, Kaho knowing what was happening but deciding to give them a moment. Ayumi covered Azami's eyes and looked away as well. "Don't beat yourself up. Or I'll feel bad too." She added. "Mukou's appetite took chunks out of my already depleted Trion so I got sent back too early. He's too greedy sometimes."

"… Sorry." Kazama stated, offering his hand and helping her up. "You can't fight either, huh?"

"Nn, I can but I would have to borrow Kuma from Ayumi. Mukou needs too much Trion, so unless this battle takes a whole bunch longer, I'm useless." Akemi replied. She noticed that Suwa Squad had managed to get the Black Trigger User into a Training Room. "But for now, I think our forces are alright… I'll only jump in if I must…"

* * *

It was over. Akemi sighed, having been just standing around and waiting for the situation to settle. There was no super serious situation that required her to take Kuma and borrow him. She was upset, sure, but that was all. Kagami and the others returned from their work, base was a mess but everyone seemed okay, save for a few missing C-Ranks. There was only one problem now, and that was Tamakoma's new recruit, Osamu Mikumo, who was in a coma. Akemi was sitting in the hospital being checked over now after everyone else due to what Mukou did to her Trion. "You seem fine. If you'd like, you can go home."

"Thanks, but I have work to do." She said, bowing her head before getting up to wander the halls. "Mikumo… you did good." She said with a smile. Chika was okay, and it seemed like everyone would be alright. Azami was resting and now, Ayumi was off duty… Akemi realized only after a few hours that she had wandered out of base. She stopped at a vending machine, paying out some loose change and getting some soda for herself.

"It's been a while since I've seen you drinking soda." Akemi whipped around to see Soya standing there. "Hey."

"… Hey." She said softly. She leaned back against the wall with him, wondering what was next. "Sorry about last night…" she added.

"Nn, it's fine… how are you feeling?"

"Much better now that we aren't worrying about the Neighbors coming at us." She turned to him, grasping his hand gently. "… Now that I know you're safe…"

"You don't have to spend time worrying about me."

"Mm, but I kind of do." She replied simply. "You're younger than me, I have obligations to protect-" she stopped, realizing he was about an inch from her lips now, smiling. "Soya?"

"… I trust you to take care of yourself… and I want you to be able to trust me, Akemi…" He leaned in and kissed her gently. "… Do you have to go home?"

"… Not if you want me to stay with you." She replied, knowing her heart was about to beat out of her chest. "But um… if you wouldn't mind…"

"… Too fast?"

"Nn, it's just that…" she moved his hand to intertwine their fingers. "I feel like I should make us dinner first…" she looked away, cheeks red. "Ne?"

"… We don't need to move that fast."

"But you've been waiting almost 4 years."

"So I can wait…" he mumbled, leaning against her shoulder to rest. "Just… not too long this time…"

"… Okay."

* * *

The pair arrived at the Aihara household, Ayumi and Azami spending the day at Tamakoma to get away from their sister's little love affair with Kazama. "They're really spending the night with Tamakoma?"

"Azami took my bed, Ayumi's sleeping on the spare futon." Akemi stated simply. "Now, do you want me to set up a movie or something? Or do you want to sleep?" she asked him. "I know you haven't slept much so…"

"I'm only sleeping if you stay with me." Kazama said, following her around the kitchen as she got some things out of the cabinets. "And you don't seem like you're going to do much sleeping right now."

"Movie, then." She stated, going to get some water before moving to start a movie. "Something old or new?" she asked, turning to see him right behind her. "… Yes?"

"Skip the movie."

"Mm, you're sure? I have a whole collection of your favorites…"

"I want you to lay down with me. Your hands were shaking." He helped her up, turned off the TV, and lead her to the couch. It was a wide seat and very comfy, so Kazama sat Akemi down first. "Scoot over." He added, the girl moving to lay down as Kazama joined her on the couch, laying down with her.

"Mm, this is comfy." She said, letting him hug onto her. "…" she nuzzled closer, trying to remain calm. She looked up at him, seeing his eyes closed. "… Soya?"

"Get some sleep." He said, not opening his eyes. "That means close your eyes and sleep. I'll wake you later." He added, opening one eye. "Now sleep."

"Buu buu, I don't wanna sleep."

"Well now you have to." He said. "Cause you aren't getting up until you've had sleep. Okay?"

"… Okay…" she kept pouting. "But not for too long. I have to make the curry."

"That's fine, I'll be up before you." He replied, closing his eye again. "Get some rest, Akemi." The woman nodded, removing her glasses and putting them on the table before she curled up to sleep. After a minute, Soya opened one eye again to see that Akemi was asleep soundly. "… Geez, you work too hard…" he mumbled, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head before closing his eyes and falling into sleep as well.

* * *

(Another chapter, including not only Mukou the Black Trigger but the weakness that is caused by it!

Next time, see Ayumi in action at the B-Rank Wars!

-Winter Cheshire)


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The B-Rank Wars Begin

* * *

Akemi and Soya walked up to the hospital together. The glasses girl was carrying a few things in her arms and refusing to allow Soya to carry them for her. "So the doctors gave Azami approval to get back to training normally?" Soya asked as they headed up to the floor that Osamu was located on.

"With the condition that he be supervised." Akemi replied, smiling. "And they won't let me volunteer, which annoys the hell out of me…"

"I'm sure someone you know will help take care of him. Tsubame or one of your other friends will help when they can."

"Mm, I know… I just worry because he's still young… he'll work too hard if he isn't careful." She added as they made it to the entrance to Osamu's room. "Ah, here it is." She smiled. She knocked. "Pardon us…" she peeked inside and noticed Chika and a woman sitting next to her.

"Akemi-senpai. Kazama-senpai." Chika got up to greet them, smiling. "Thank you for coming."

"Not at all, Chika." Akemi pet the girl's head and opened the wrappings, handing her a box. "It was my turn to cook for Tamakoma last night, so I made you a bento for today." She replied, looking up to bow to the woman who was sitting there. "And for you as well, Mikumo-san." Akemi also placed a bag down on the counter where a few presents already rested. "This is for Osamu-kun when he gets better."

"Ah you must be the girl that the other Tamakoma agents mentioned. Aihara, Akemi, correct?" The woman looked to the pair. "Thank you for coming."

"Not at all." Soya replied, watching as Akemi gave the woman a bento. "Your son did very well for someone so new to Border."

"Soya, you're so straight forward sometimes…" Akemi chuckled a little. "Osamu-kun did exceptionally well, Mikumo-san… I couldn't be more proud to have someone like him as a part of Tamakoma Branch." She looked to Chika. "And you too, Chika. You did good out there." Akemi pet Chika's head and the girl smiled a little. "Tamakoma's rookies are strong… It's reassuring."

"You're being too mothering." Soya stated, watching her with a small smile.

"I'm the oldest in Tamakoma's ranks as far as agents go, you know." Akemi pouted at Soya a little. "I feel responsible for taking care of the new recruits…"

"You did more than your share on the battle field, Akemi." Soya reminded her.

"Even so…"

"You're a "floater" agent, right?" Osamu's mother asked.

"Yes, that's right."

"You just met Osamu within the past 2 months… why do you feel responsible?"

"… My brother was hospitalized after he joined Border, Mikumo-san. Much like Osamu, though under very different circumstances, he was injured by a Neighbor." She replied. "My parents have been long since presumed dead, and as my brother is only 14 now I have assumed the role of being his guardian. It's not quite the same, but I know the pain you must feel, seeing Osamu-kun here in this state." She stated.

"… I see…"

"Also, I am Osamu's senpai. Therefore I feel as though his getting hurt was a part of my responsibility. However…" she glanced at Osamu. "I know that he's a strong boy… who would do anything to protect his friends… especially Chika." She added. "He worked hard, put his strategizing to use, and he made it out alive. That's a big part of who he is… and he's a big part of Tamakoma, too."

"… Thank you for saying so." The woman nodded her head.

"We'll be on our way, then." Akemi turned to Chika. "Make sure you sleep, okay?"

"Okay, Akemi-senpai." She bowed her head before watching Akemi and Kazama leave the room. As they were leaving, they noticed Izumi, Midorikawa, and Yosuke down the hall talking about yakiniku.

"Oh… Akemi-senpai. Kazama-senpai." Izumi noticed them first, Yosuke grinning like an idiot when he saw them.

"You're in a hospital, keep it down." Soya stated.

"Yes, I'm sorry." As they continued to try and figure it out, Soya stopped, Akemi smiling at the slight irritation she saw on his face from them not knowing the name of the cow's 4th stomach.

"Izumi." The boys flinched, turning to where Kazama stood, facing away from them. "It's giara."

"Have fun at yakiniku. Say hello to Azuma for me." Akemi waved her hand before turning to walk with Soya again. As the couple made it to the first floor, Soya sighed a little. "You okay?"

"… Wanna go somewhere to eat?"

"Hehe, you want to eat yakiniku too?" she asked. "All that talk about it must've made you hungry." She added, looking out the window.

"It doesn't have to be yakiniku, but if you don't mind it…"

"Hehe, thought so." She took his hand and they walked off to find the nearest yakiniku restaurant to eat at. "… So you think he'll be okay?"

"I think you should stop worrying about it." Soya stated, his lips pursing into a tiny, almost unnoticeable pout. "He was moved into general care so he must be fine."

"Jealous?"

"No."

"Mmhm." Akemi squeezed Kazama's hand. "If it were you, I wouldn't leave your side if I could help it." She added, hoping to make him feel better. "And I'd talk to you the whole time, everyone would think I was crazy."

"… I get it, stop it…" he muttered, squeezing her hand back. His cheeks were red. "… And no one would think you were crazy…" he added, glancing up at her. "It would be classified as grieving."

"Mmmm, but still." She smiled. "I'm crazy for you, so that qualifies, doesn't it?" Soya almost tripped from hearing that out of nowhere, glaring at her the slightest bit after she began apologizing. "I'm sorry, I can't help it. It's cute, when you get embarrassed."

"I swear, one of these days I'll get you back." He mumbled, leading her towards the restaurant once more. "I'm paying for the meal."

"Aww, but I got a raise too…"

"I don't care, I'm paying." Soya stated, making Akemi laugh a little. "I mean it."

"I know."

* * *

Ayumi woke up one morning to hear her cell phone ringing. She scrambled for it, recognizing the ring tone. "G-good morning, Shuji-kun!"

"You're not ready yet?" he asked. "It's already 8, you were supposed to be awake half an hour ago." He replied, the girl panicking.

"Ahhh, I'm so sorry I'll be out in 5 minutes!" she exclaimed, rushing out of bed and nearly falling over herself as Shuji waited on the line for her. 5 minutes later, on the dot, her door bedroom door slammed open and she ran downstairs, seeing her kid brother at the breakfast table with Shuji. "I'm sorry, Shuji-kun!"

"Geez, you never change…" Shuji muttered, Azami sipping his juice. "You know the Ranking War begins today, you're going to be late."

"I know I'm sorry!" she fell to her knees and began profusely bowing to the boy.

"O-oi, knock it off!"

"But-!"

"Ayu. Too loud…" Akemi came down the stairs carrying what looked like a coffee mug and a plate. "You'll wake the dead."

"I'm sorry, Ake-nee!"

"Yes yes, now calm down and eat. It's only 7." She stated, making Ayumi pause. "I asked Shuji to come early so you would wake up."

"Ake-nee, that's cruel!"

"Onee-sama is a devil." Azami stated. "But her methods are very effective."

"Aza, you need to start getting ready." She stated. "Mikan said she'd help you practice this morning, remember?"

"Oh… right…" he got up and went to get ready while the middle child of the family crawled her way into a chair and began eating her breakfast. As Akemi washed her dishes, Akemi and Shuji were completely silent.

"By the way." She turned to them. "Ayumi, when is your transfer to Tamakoma? I know that Kido-san sent the papers but you haven't signed them, so…"

"Oh, if I successfully place with Tsubame Squad in the B-Rank Wars he would put in my transfer asap…" she replied, Akemi noticing Shuji looking put out by her words. "But…"

"But?"

"I wouldn't have a team there so it might be strange…"

"Mm, good point… Well it's a good thing a certain boy is looking to enter the B-Rank Wars as well…"

"Hm? Boy…?"

"Ake didn't tell you?"

"Eep! M-mikan-senpai!" Ayumi exclaimed, a girl's hands now wrapped around her shoulders.

"Tell her what?" Shuji asked.

"Azami and Kou's kid brother are moving up into the B-Rank Wars. They got just enough points and they're looking for a 3rd."

"E-eeh? B-but to change squads so soon before hand-!"

"I think it would be better than your transfer to Tamakoma." Akemi stated, her sister's eyes going wide. "After all… you only wanted to come to Tamakoma because of Kuma… but if you have permission to use him and you can still be a sniper, don't you think you would enjoy that more than being a 4th on Tsubame-san's squad?"

"… I…" Ayumi seemed at a loss for words. Her sister was never this upfront about her confronting her problems, and in front of Shuji no less… but all the same, Ayumi seemed… happy. She was smiling. "I think that would be good too, Ake-nee."

"Good. It's appropriate that I put in the changes after the invasion chaos was cleaned up."

"E-eeh? You did?"

"I did. Tsubame-san agreed to it."

"… Eeeh… Ake-nee, did you ask Jin-san to make use of his side effect?"

"Maybe." Akemi wandered back upstairs. "Have fun watching the competition, you two. I'll be watching the matches."

* * *

Once at Border's HQ, Ayumi went off to the arena where competition was taking place. Seeing as her Squad was newly formed, Ayumi and her new team were in the bottom ranks. There were 22 teams in total, and Ayumi was thankful they weren't placed against Yuma and Chika in the first go around. She looked at her brother, who was sipping his can of juice as he watched e fight on their operator's monitor. She glanced at Kou's brother, Kai, who was doing much the same as her brother. But then she looked to their operator, who wasn't watching the match. He was watching Ayumi. He smiled. "Something wrong, Ayumi-senpai?"

"N-no, sorry…" she shook her head. Ako, Kenma. He was a friend of her brother's, but his stare was so calm and yet constantly analyzing. It unnerved Ayumi sometimes, but she knew he would be a good operator. "Are we ready to go? It's our turn."

"Oh, is it? Let's go then." Azami said, patting his sister's head as he walked by. "You're nervous."

"I can't help it…"

"You'll be fine, Ayu-nee." He said, looking up at her. "After all, you got training from some of the best snipers in Border… and we'll protect you." He motioned to Kai and Kenma. "Ne?"

"… Right."

"Welcome back, everyone." Sakurako stated. "We will now begin the next match. Our guest refs for this time around will be Kou-san of Shinoda's O-Rank Squad and Akemi-san of Tamakoma's O-Rank Squad!"

"Glad to be here."

"I'm looking forward to a good match."

"Since these two are the guests for today, let's focus on Aihara Squad." Sakurako added. "I understand that the squad's combatants all are related to one of the two of you?"

"That's right, Sakurako-chan." Kou stated. "And with Azami as captain, I don't think they'll be losing."

"May I ask why Azami-kun is captain? Isn't he the youngest of them?"

"He is but…" Kou looked to Akemi. "He's also done plenty of simulation training with his big sister here."

"Ah, yes yes, I've heard rumors that he's an amazing strategist, thanks to his two older sisters feeding him various scenarios every chance they get."

"It's hardly thanks to us." Akemi stated. "Azami's always been smart. He's outsmarted me plenty of times with board games and sports… he's a force to be reckoned with." She replied.

"Ohh, I see I see. And as a B-Rank member already, Ayumi-chan has a lot of experience too, so she's been at this for a while."

"She has."

"This will be an amazing match, then!" Sakurako exclaimed as the groups were transported onto the field to begin the Rank War.

* * *

Ayumi sighed, relieved that it was over quickly. As she left the arena, she noticed someone waiting for her. "Shuji-kun…?"

"See you, Ayu-nee." Azami walked past his sister, his team mates following. "Get home safe."

"A-azami?" Ayumi looked confused, but looked to Shuji, ending up smiling. "Sorry… um, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Taking you to dinner."

"H-huh?"

"Your sister told me to." He added, Ayumi wondering why Akemi would have told Shuji to take her to dinner. "Come on… we're going for ramen."

"Y-yes." She nodded her head, following him out. She was confused, but she would go along with it.

"Akemi-nee, you're seriously doing this?" Azami asked, standing with his sister and some of the others on a rooftop. "Spying is not cool."

"Hush, Aza. You tried to do the same to me when I started dating." Akemi replied, watching as Shuji and Ayumi were walking to the ramen shop. "Kuma." The bear that normally responded to Ayumi appeared at Akemi's side, handing her something. "Thank you." She pet the bear's head and hugged him to her, watching as Ayumi looked into her purse for her phone, noting her missing wallet. She panicked a little, expectedly, but Shuji talked her into calming down and letting him pay.

"Nee-sama is a devil."

"Of course." Akemi replied to her brother.

"Akemi-senpai, you're really terrifying…" Kai stated. "Aren't you at all concerned that this is pushing them too fast?"

"Kai, she's been planning this for years." Kou told his brother. "This is literally 6 years in the making."

"6 years, huh? Akemi-senpai's obsessive over these things." Kenma laughed, getting slapped on the back of the head by Kuma, who changed location for a moment before reappearing in Akemi's arms. "Oww…"

"Don't mess with this, Kenma, or I'll beat you straight to hell." Akemi told him, eyes not leaving Ayumi and Shuji as they headed into the restaurant. "Good good they're going to eat." She sighed, getting up and stretching. "That's all for now." She pet Kuma's head and turned to the others. "You can all leave now."

"What, seriously?"

"Just go." Kou said, pushing his brother a little so he would walk off, making sure Kenma went too. Azami stayed a moment longer.

"Going home?"

"Nn, I'm going to join Kazama Squad on patrol… Oh, do you need to eat?" she asked, turning to him.

"I can get something on the way."

"Here." She handed him some bills from her wallet. "Thanks for coming with me."

"Nn, it's for Ayu-nee so its fine…" he replied, taking the bills. "I'll buy some dessert for when you bring Kazama-senpai over." He added before he headed home, Akemi smiling a little at the boy before she got up and stretched.

"Time to go on patrol, I guess…" she looked around before she got up and went to go meet up with Kazama Squad for night patrol.

* * *

When Akemi got back to her house with Soya, the pair sat down in the kitchen to take a break. "Tea or coffee?" she asked as she got the water to boil.

"Shouldn't you sleep instead of pumping more caffeine into your system?" he asked her, leaning his head on his hand, elbow resting on the table. "Kikuchihara mentioned it too, but anyone could tell. You're tired, Akemi."

"I'm fine, Soya." She replied, getting the tea from the cabinet. "I've been a little restless, but I'll be fine."

"Losing sleep worrying over your brother and sister will only make you worse."

"Then stay and make sure I sleep." She stated, pouting. She turned to look at Soya, noting that he was smiling; almost smirking, actually.

"So I can stay? You're not going to send me home?"

"… If you're expecting that to mean-"

"I would never expect that." Soya said, still smiling. Akemi's heart skipped a beat from that look he was giving her. "But if you're asking me to stay, I will. For you."

"… Then stay." Was all she could manage to say. Soya stood up and walked over to her, taking her hand and pressing her back against the counter. "… Soya, the tea-"

"I'll get it, just… for a minute…" he muttered, leaning in and kissing Akemi gently a few times before stopping, sighing a little. "Sorry, I should really stop…" but as he pulled back, Akemi pulled him back to her, kissing him clumsily. Soya knew she wasn't all that accustomed to this, so he just smiled into her lips and enjoyed her attempts. "Okay, maybe not…"

"You are really messing with my head, Soya…" Akemi muttered. "I can't sleep without you anymore…" she added, face redder than a steamed lobster. "I'm not just losing sleep because of the Rank Wars… I'm losing sleep when you aren't around…"

"… Then I'll make sure you sleep well tonight." He gave her a few more kisses before they had their tea, talking about the future and what would come next. It was a long talk and it lasted till 3am, once that was done they headed upstairs and fell asleep together in Akemi's bed.

* * *

(Another chapter~ I didn't have inspiration to write Ayum's fight scene so I'll make sure to get it in next time.

Hopefully also some more focus on Ayumi X Shuji~

Hope you all like this chapter~ ; v ; Reviews are loved~

-Winter Cheshire)


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Ayumi's Favorite Tactic

* * *

"Waaah… Osamu-kun's squad chose Cityscape C?" Ayumi looked shocked as she watched the match review with her brother in the waiting room. "And they won?"

"Of course they did." Azami said, nodding his head. "It was a smart move on his part. Cityscape C made Arafune Squad think they had a huge advantage, but it also made them the main focus of attack." "We have to win our match too, Ayu-nee." He added, glancing up at her. "So remember, so long as you can hold out until the turning point, we'll win."

"Got it." She nodded, smiling. "Thanks, Azami."

"Nn, don't thank me." He shook his head. "It's your favorite tactic… I wanted you to be able to show off a little for your future boyfriend."

"A-azami!" she panicked at the statement, earning a smile from her kid brother.

* * *

"Welcome to today's match!" Sakurako said cheerfully. "This round's guest commentators are Jushi Tsubame-senpai of Tsubame Squad and Eita Kokone-senpai of Aihara-1!"

"It's a pleasure to be here!" Eita grinned from his seat.

"Yes it is." Tsubame nodded.

"So, Tsubame-senpai. Ayumi-senpai used to be a part of your squad, correct?"

"Yes, though Ayumi's placing as a B-rank in my squad was a temporary thing." He stated. "She was originally slated to transfer to Tamakoma when she found a more appropriate team, however now that she has teamed up with Aihara-2, she seems to be having much more freedom to fight her own way."

"Her own way?"

"Ju's right." Eita stated. "Akemi-senpai told me once that Ayumi-chan has a really unique fight style, and she was only restricted thanks to the Border Triggers." He nodded his head. "I've never seen her in a fight, though." he shrugged. "So I'm looking forward to it."

"Ahh, but Tsubame-senpai knows how she fights, as a sniper, right?"

"Of course, but I won't spoil it." He stated. "Just watch, you'll see why I recruited her in the first place. Even if only temporarily."

"Alright, let's get this match started!"

* * *

Akemi sat watching the match involving her sister and brother, listening to the commentary with a smile. "Tsubame and Eita, huh?" she chuckled. "This is so strange, seeing them together and commentating on Ayumi's and Azami's battle…"

"Strange?" Sanyo, who had joined her in the audience, tilted his head at the comment. "Why is it strange, Akemi-senpai?"

"Ah, you weren't around then, but Tsubame and Eita were rivals when they were still C-Rank agents." She replied. "They used to fight about everything, but the competition made them good friends." She added. "But after they made it to B-Rank and fought in the B-Rank wars, they haven't seen each other much because Eita came to Tamakoma with myself and Kagami, and then Tsubame continued forward with his own group."

"But Tsubame's still a B-Rank?"

"He does it by choice. He likes helping out without being in the spot light too much." She replied, still watching the match as Azami and Kai continued to fight and take trion bit by bit from their opponents with small injuries. "It's why I asked him to look after Ayumi." She added. "She was always getting in trouble because she kept getting hurt." She sighed. "But that's just how she is. Reckless and self-endangering… oh, and of course not caring how much trion she loses in the process." She nodded her head. "It's the main reason I was so surprised when she transitioned to being a sniper."

"She transitioned?" Sanyo questioned. "From what?"

"AAAH!" the sudden exclamation from Sakurako made Sanyo look up at the screen. "Aihara's been found! She's got herself caught in the middle of two opponents, how will the sniper from Aihara-2 Squad get out of this?!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Shuji tensed as he watched, seeing Ayumi preparing to fight back. Yosuke noticed, grinning a little. He knew Shuji well enough to know that if Ayumi was in trouble, he'd get all worked up.

"She's pretty tough, huh? She doesn't look scared at all." Yosuke said as Shuji looked back at the screen, watching as the camera stayed on the fight, Ayumi smiling a little. "Wonder why?"

"… She learned from one of the most bull-headed women in Border, of course." Shuji muttered. "Her sister taught her not to be scared of anything… even if it means standing up to more than one enemy at a time."

* * *

Flashback:

"Shuji-kun, are you okay?" Ayumi asked, running over to the boy and checking on him. Some older boy had picked a fight with Shuji and Ayumi had seen it.

"Idiot, go home I'm fine." He muttered, his pride a little hurt that Ayumi ran to his rescue.

"You aren't!"

"Hey, who's the cutie?" One of the older boys grabbed Ayumi's shoulder only to get smacked in the face with her school bag. "Ow! The hell?!"

"You leave Shuji-kun alone!" She stated, kneeling next to him. "You're all just a bunch of no good punks!"

"What did you say, brat?!" One of the bullies lunged to grab her side-braid when a rock flew at his face, causing him to stumble back.

"What the hell are you chumps doing to my sister?" The boys all paused, shivering as they heard that voice. They turned to see Akemi, Kou, and Shuji's older sister, the Miwa girl holding the glasses girl's bag as Akemi picked up another rock from the side of the road. "Well?" she asked, glaring at them.

"I-it's just a couple of girls and that girly boy, get them!" The leader was obviously terrified, but ordered his flunkies to charge Akemi and the other two anyway. The girl shook her head, motioning for the Miwa girl to step back.

"You're all dumb…" she said, grabbing Kou's kendo stick. "Borrowing this. I'll buy you a new one if I break it."

"Sounds good." Kou said simply, standing back to watch. It was quite a sight to see, the boys all got knocked down in a matter or just over a minute, Akemi dusting herself off and handing Kou back his kendo stick. "Not bad."

"And yet you still ask why I avoid kendo club?" she asked, laughing a little. "I'm not much one for proper form and all that." She reminded him as she took her bag back from her other friend. "Thanks."

"No problem." Miwa ran over to her brother and checked him over. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" he mumbled, looking a little put out but glad it was over. "I could've handled it."

"You could've, but…" His sister sighed. "Nevermind." She pet his head instead. "Ayumi-chan, thanks for saving Shuji."

"I-I just… Akemi-nee taught me to protect my friends when they're outnumbered…" Ayumi said nervously. "I-I didn't mean to upset you, Shuji-kun…" the girl looked like she might cry, Shuji suddenly looking super nervous, glancing at Akemi as though expecting to get smacked or something. But when Ayumi started to cry, Shuji sighed and turned to her.

"Stop crying, you saved my ass you know…" he muttered. "… Thanks."

"B-but you look mad at me…" she said, still sniffling.

"I-I'm not mad, okay?!" he exclaimed, trying to calm her down pretty unsuccessfully. His sister laughed a little, Akemi sighing and shaking her head.

"Ayumi-chan, don't cry." Miwa smiled. "Shuji's just a meanie, it's okay."

"N-nee-san!"

"What? It's true." Miwa said to her brother. "You make girls cry, Shuji, it's not good for your reputation. How will you get married if you keep making girls cry?" she waved her finger at him, soon getting Ayumi to laugh. Akemi watched, smiling a little. Her sister smiling like that was good… it meant she was okay… Akemi wanted nothing more than to make her sister smile again. After losing their parents, smiles were so rare.

"She seems better." Kou stated.

"She is… I hope…" Akemi sighed. "… Now if I could just get her and Shuji together, I think I could stop worrying about her so much."

: Flashback End

* * *

As Ayumi was continually boxed back in by her opponents, she seemed to be running out of options. But as soon as her enemy came at her with Scorpion, something changed. Ayumi changed her stance, and in an instant her opponent was cut down. "Wh-what was that?! Has one of her team come to her rescue?! Has another opponent taken out the opponent?!" Sakurako exclaimed, waiting for the smoke to clear. And as soon as it did, her voice rang out again. "Is this really happening?!" the crowd was stunned, seeing Ayumi wielding a kogetsu. "Is the sniper of Aihara-2 Squad wielding a kogetsu! I don't believe it! She's pulling out her trump card?!"

"You could call it a trump card, but honestly it was her original tactic." Tsubame stated simply.

"It was?!"

"Aihara, Ayumi was originally an attacker. She's only been a sniper for about 8 or 9 months now." Eita nodded his head.

"Really?!" Sakurako exclaimed.

* * *

"There she goes…" Akemi sighed as she shook her head, smiling a little as she watched Ayumi charge at the other opponent, not even seeming to notice that she was getting small injuries from the oncoming attacks.

"Akemi-senpai, what does that mean?" Sanyo asked, tilting his head.

"It means that my sister's going to fight recklessly…" she sighed. "This is bad… She'd better not get hurt again." she added, gripping her sleeve and staring at the fight intently. Sanyo quirked an eyebrow, having only heard stories about what happened with Ayumi before. He knew she didn't handle the Border triggers well, and he knew she got hurt a lot, but why he was unsure. "Ahh, there she goes…" she muttered, seeing Ayumi finish cutting down her opponent and emerging with a gash on her shoulder and in her left leg, but otherwise no worse for wear.

"… Akemi-senpai."

"Mmm?"

"She seems to be handling it fine… why were you so worried?"

"She's an idiot who doesn't turn off her pain sensors." Akemi stated simply.

"… What?!"

* * *

Flashback:

"Ayu."

"Ah, Akemi-nee!" Ayumi rushed over, nearly tripping as she hugged onto her older sister. "You're here!"

"Sorry I took so long." She said, patting the girl's head, noting various bandages on her knees and hands. "Ready to go home?"

"Yeah yeah!" she nodded, smiling and clinging to her older sister. "Oh, Akemi-nee you know Shuji-kun right?" she motioned to her friend. "He's your classmate's brother right?"

"Oh, Miwa's brother?" Akemi asked, looking over to Shuji. "Yes, I know him." She smiled. "Hi, Shuji."

"Hi Akemi-senpai…" he waved, cheeks tinted a little red.

"Oh, your sister's late today… Do you want us to wait with you?"

"Oh, you don't have to-!"

"Mm, then we will." Akemi smiled. "Ayu, wait here with Shuji, okay? I'll go get some juice."

"Okay, Akemi-nee!" Ayumi nodded, going to sit with Shuji again before letting Akemi run off to the nearby vending machine. "Ne ne, Shuji-kun, your sister's a member of the student council, right?"

"Y-yeah, she is."

"That's really cool!" Ayumi grinned. "Akemi-nee says she's super smart and nice, too!"

"Yeah…" Shuji nodded, seeming in a little bit of a daze, watching Akemi from afar. Ayumi noticed it too, but just kept smiling. Even if he didn't notice her, she'd still try her best.

: Flashback End

* * *

"That's it! It's over! Aihara Squad wins! I can hardly believe that their sniper was the match ender!" Sakurako exclaimed, Akemi sighing. At the end, Ayumi had to Bail Out thanks to severe trion loss. But Azami and Kai made it to the end.

"I have to talk to them both about that tactic of theirs…" she muttered, getting out of her seat with Sanyo and heading to meet her siblings.

"Akemi-senpai, why doesn't Ayumi turn off the pain sensors?" Sanyo asked.

"… I wish I knew." She muttered, shaking her head. "She said once… that it makes her feel alive." She shook her head again. "It's so stupid, it's why she kept ending up in the hospital." She stated. "The pain would get to be too much, and when she didn't take breaks she'd end up collapsing at school or something…" she sighed.

"… Must be tough… being a big sister to a girl like Ayumi."

"Of course it is." Akemi replied. "… But she IS still my sister." The two walked out of the arena and headed for the elevators when Akemi noticed Kazama. "Soya." The blackette turned his head to see her, bowing his head a little and heading over to her.

"See you back at Tamakoma, Akemi-senpai." Sanyo said, immediately taking his leave. Kazama looked at Akemi and leaned his head against her shoulder a little.

"What's wrong?"

"I have defense duty in a little while…" he muttered. "After you left for patrol, I tried to get more sleep and ended up over-sleeping."

"Eh, headache?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Here, lean against the wall." She stated, moving him to lean back against the wall and reaching up to rub the sides of his skull gently with her thumbs. "Close your eyes." She added, Kazama complying almost immediately. "… Is this helping?"

"… Yeah." He muttered, taking a deep breath. "Sorry to bug you."

"Nn, it's fine." She smiled. "I wanted to see you anyway, so even if it's just doing this, I'm getting my fill of giving you attention." She chuckled, making him open his eyes and pout a little at her. "Ahh, no no that's too cute." She grinned, stopping her hands and leaning her forehead against his. "Soya is being cute."

"… Ne."

"Mmm?"

"You don't have patrol till tomorrow night, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Can I come to your place after I finish patrol?" he asked. "I need to sleep, and if you won't be getting up early we can just laze the morning away."

"Eeeeh…" she smiled, nodding. "Sure." She paused for a second, taking a breath and taking something out of her pocket. "Here."

"What is it?" he asked, pausing to look at the object and realizing that it was a key. "… Your house key?"

"Ehehe, yeah." She nodded with a smile. "I might be passed out by the time you come back, so you might have to let yourself in." she added, cheeks pink. Kazama nodded, smiling a little. "I'll see you when you arrive, ne?"

"Yeah."

* * *

((Another chapter, finally ; u ;'' Sorry for the delay.

Ayumi's backstory revealed! And perhaps Shuji Miwa is concerned for her~?

Next time, Round 3 of the B-Rank wars!

-Winter Cheshire))


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Memories

* * *

Azami sat up on the morning of the 3rd round of the B-Rank Wars. He could hear Ayumi rushing around and making breakfast, the almost unheard responses of his oldest sister creating gaps in Ayumi's panicky speech. The boy got up and went to get ready for the day, making sure he was properly dressed before he wandered downstairs. "Nee-sama. Why is Ayu-nee so loud?"

"Morning, Azami." Akemi ruffled Azami's hair. "Sleep well?"

"Mmm, could've used another hour." He replied.

"Haha, no oversleeping Aza~" Ayumi rushed over and handed him a plate. "Eat lots, okay~?"

"… Why are you cooking, Ayu-nee?"

"Because she's practicing for a certain A-7 Squad leader." Akemi teased, Ayumi nearly dropping her cooking utensil into the pan.

"N-nee-san, hush! I-I'm just getting used to cooking!"

"Mmhm. Whatever you say, Ayu." Akemi got up and ruffled her sister's hair before placing her empty coffee cup in the sink and wandering back up the stairs. Once she was out of hearing range, Ayumi looked relieved and she and her brother began talking strategy, since Akemi banned Ayumi from going all in unless she was cornered.

* * *

Once her siblings headed out for the day to head to the arena so they could watch Tamakoma-2's match, Akemi exhaustedly headed to the Tamakoma Branch so she could check on something. She arrived to see Rindo waiting for her at the door. "Rindo-san…"

"Are you not feeling good?" he asked her. "Has Soya been keeping you awake at night?" he grinned.

"The exact opposite, Rindo-san." She replied. "I've been getting great sleep whenever Soya and I spend the night together." Rindo laughed whole-heartedly at her response.

"Good to hear." He nodded. "Come on, we've got everything set up for you." He lead her to a training room. "Mukou's gonna get a feast." He pat her head before leaving her in the room, going to watch the control panel as the countdown to start began. "Don't overdo it." He stated.

"I won't… I just need to make Mukou stop growling, it's really loud." She stated, looking up at the ceiling. "Sorry for asking this of you, Rindo-san…"

"It's fine, besides the extra Trion suspension makes it easier." He replied. "Alright, ready?" he asked as the countdown hit 5.

"Ready." She replied, closing her eyes and waiting for the area around her to change. '3… 2… 1…'

* * *

When Akemi was done, she headed to HQ when she noticed a certain blonde woman with a soft smile and a kind face. "Nasu-chan…" Akemi stopped and bowed to the woman.

"Akemi-chan." Nasu smiled. "Glad to see you're doing well."

"As well as can be." She nodded her head. "Oh, how did the battle turn out? How many points did you take?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Not as many as I'd have liked, but enough." Nasu replied, her team waiting off to the side. "I heard that Ayumi-chan and Azami-kun are doing well in Aihara-2. Congratulations."

"It has nothing to do with me, Nasu-chan." Akemi shook her head. "And in any case, they're nowhere near out of the woods yet." She added. "If you like, since I had to bail last time, we can have a battle sometime." She smiled.

"Ohh, but you won't use your second layer of power?" she asked.

"I'm not allowed to, Nasu-chan, you know that." She sighed. "Layer 1, that's all."

"Then I'd love to~ I can be approximately on par with you and have a wonderful exercise~" she smiled. Akemi nodded and the two shook hands before Nasu and her Squad headed off, Akemi heading to go and do patrol. She pouted a little, knowing that meant missing her sibling's fight, but since Kaho was the announcer, she'd be able to stop by and ask for details after her shift.

* * *

Ayumi and Azami sat in silence, both exhausted from their battle. But despite their near loss, they both remained alive in the battlefield, which earned them their survival points and got them the win. Azami glanced at his sister, who cringed thanks to all her injuries. "… Nee-sama says you should turn down the pain sensors." He stated.

"Nn, I won't." Ayumi replied. It was the only thing that Akemi told her that she outright refused.

"… You're weird, Ayu-nee."

"Haha, I know." She smiled. "But I promised… That I wouldn't cry anymore when Jiji died…" she replied, Azami's eyes widening at the sudden mention of their grandfather. "… I gotta be strong, like Akemi-nee…" she put her hand to her heart.

"… There's no one in the world like Akemi-neesama." Azami stated. Ayumi chuckled, a little disheartened by her brother's comment. "… But there's also only one Ayumi-neesan, so don't get so sad." He added, getting up and offering his hand to her before they were teleported back to the waiting room.

* * *

The siblings walked home after making sure their friends made it to their own homes safely, Azami and Ayumi opening the door to see a huge selection of food laid out on the table. "Welcome home, you two." They looked to the kitchen door where Akemi was dressed in her "housewife" attire, as Azami called it once, sweater dress, leggings, apron and all.

"Waaah, Ake-nee cooked all this?" Ayumi looked like she would cry from feeling so happy over all the food. "It all smells so good~!"

"Yep." Akemi smiled at them. "As a congratulations for winning." She pet both their heads.

"Eeeh." Azami pouted. "But we didn't win really…"

"You moved from Rank B-22 to Rank B-12 in just 3 rounds is hard to do." Akemi said, ruffling Azami's hair more. "Stop pouting, its not going to be that fast." She smiled more. "So, go wash up. I'll finish the tea and then we can eat." She said, Azami nodding and going to wash his hands with Ayumi.

* * *

Akemi finished washing dishes late that night, and once she was done she went straight to her room, opening her computer and starting up a video. There was a little static but the audio was clear enough. "Welcome to the B-Rank Wars Round 1." The announcer stated. "Today's match up consists of Aihara Squad, Ninomiya Squad, and Tsubame Squad." Akemi put in her earphones and listened to the audio, closing her eyes and recalling how her first and only Rank War had panned out.

* * *

Flashback:

Akemi, Kagami, and Eita stood at their starting positions, having heard the starting of the match.

 _Why aren't any of the members moving? What is Aihara Squad thinking?_

Eita was pretty far off, but he didn't move an inch. He stood and waited for orders, activating his bagworm and checking the radar for people coming his way. Kagami was a little closer to the action, but no one seemed willing to take him on directly alone. He also stood still, waiting for a command from his captain.

 _I heard that Tsubame Squad's Shooter said something pretty mean to Aihara Squad's captain._

Indeed, he had. Orochi, Junpei was a 17 year old shooter, cocky as all hell and a real jerk as far as his manners. Tsubame reprimanded him several times for being rude other shooters, but right before the match Orochi said something to Akemi that Tsubame knew was going to cause a real stir with the 19 year old megane-girl. Sure, he'd stirred up trouble before with her, it was why Akemi and Kagami were here in the first place. Even as a Tamakoma agent, they'd never been ranked because they had no team. With Eita now in tow, they had a way into the rank wars and a way for a certain ash-blue eyed girl to get a hit in to his squad's shooter.

 _I hear he said that the captain's little sister was useless because she didn't manage to get into Border on the first go._

Akemi stood waiting, all the enemies lining up to get into range of her. Orochi took the first shot, but to everyone's shock the Tamakoma Floater girl did not shoot him back. She dodged, flying at him with Grasshopper and slicing off his arm. She rallied, everyone around in shock as the glasses-girl continually used grasshopper to get behind the shooter and slash off another limb, finally taking the kill shot and decapitating him. Once he bailed out, she turned to look at the other opponents. "So. Who's next?" she asked, Kagami and Eita sighing at their new captain.

 _I don't believe it, Aihara Squad's captain has just taken out Tsubame Squad's shooter with a kogetsu! Her speed, even though using grasshopper, is incredible!_

 _How did she manage that without getting shot?_

"No one?" she looked around, barely catching the glimpse of a shot and dodging with grasshopper. "Mirai, huh?" she muttered, taking her kogetsu and standing firm. "Alright, if you won't come to me…" she charged the opponents, slashing left and right before she gave a signal and her two fellow agents took out the snipers of the opposing teams.

 _Hatohara and Oyakaze are out! Aihara Squad is dominating this field! This is unprecedented!_

: Flashback End

* * *

Akemi removed her headphones after going through all the tapes. She'd solidified her place as a high-ranking fighter, managed to scare Orochi out of Border, and paved the path for her siblings not to get bullied once they were ready to join. But then her mind landed on Mirai Hatohara, Ninomiya's former sniper. Akemi and Mirai had been fairly close as far as being the only girls on an all male team and all that got them. Akemi was even around when Mirai started tutoring a currently B-rank agent. After shaking off the thoughts of her friend being deemed a "traitor", she then went to her computer and opened a log to check for what the next matchup would be. "… Eeeh… Tamakoma-2 is facing off against some tough opponents… Azuma Squad, Kageura Squad and…" she paused. "Ninomiya Squad, huh?" she asked, sighing. "I never did like Nino's Squad, the way they behave towards people…" she decided it was better not to make herself more angry, so she didn't look up her sibling's next match up. But she did think about something. "Ema is one of Chika-chan's opponents… I wonder how he's doing?" she muttered, taking off her glasses. "… Maybe I'll go check on him during sniper practice tomorrow…?" she closed her eyes and let herself doze off.

* * *

Akemi awoke the next morning to her phone ringing. She grumbled, but picked it up. "Who the hell is calling?" she asked before allowing the call through. "Aihara."

"Akemiiiiii~"

"What do you want, Mikan?" Akemi asked. "It's too early for you to be so happy."

"I want a match!"

"It's 6 in the morning, Mikan!"

"Not now, but I wanted to check to make sure you and Kaza-tan aren't going on a date~" she grinned as she spoke, twirling her strawberry blonde hair on a finger. "Neeee? Please?"

"… Fine, I'll see you for lunch and then we can fight." She grumbled. "But no using El."

"Oh no no of course not!" Mikan exclaimed energetically. "I'm not allowed to use El in Rank Wars~" she giggled. "Silly Ake~ I'll see you for lunch, then~" and with that, the happy go lucky woman named Mikan hung up the phone.

"I swear to god, she acts like she has all the time in the world." Akemi turned over and put her phone down, trying to go back to sleep. But soon she got another call and she picked it up without checking her caller ID. "What?"

"Ah… sorry, did I wake you?"

"S-soya… sorry, Mikan just woke me up." She said, embarrassed that she'd snapped at him thinking it was her friend again.

"Ah, that so?" he asked. "Should I let you sleep?"

"No, it's fine. I'm up now." She sighed. "What's up?" she asked as she went to her closet to grab some clothes for the morning. She heard him yawn. "Did you just get off patrol?"

"Kinda…" he mumbled. "Are you in your room?" he asked, Akemi hearing the door open. She sighed, smiling a little and heading to her door, dressed in her sleep shorts and a button-front shirt. She saw Soya pause at the stairs and stare at her, hanging up and walking over to her, latching onto her. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Hehe, cause I missed you." She said, nuzzling him a little as they hugged.

"Well that explains where my shirt went I guess." He muttered, smiling a little. "I didn't think you'd wear it just cause you missed me."

"Mmm, well you left it with me. And it's fun to wear your clothes." She added, nuzzling him a little more. "You can get some sleep while I make breakfast, if you want." She added, motioning to her bed. "Should still be warm since I just got up."

"Please." He leaned in and pecked her cheek before going to flop on her bed, removing his jacket and tossing it on the side. "Sorry."

"No, it's alright." She replied. "I'll come get you once the food's ready." She turned back to her door and went downstairs, stretching as she went. "Mmm, this is nice~" she said to herself as she started cooking.

* * *

After breakfast with Soya and her siblings, Akemi arrived at HQ, carrying a bag of senbei. "Kou." Akemi walked over to her sniper friend, handing him the bag. "Here, for you."

"Akemi." He accepted the bag, tilting his head a little in confusion. "What are you doing here? It's sniper training, you know."

"I know." She replied simply. "I'm here to see Ema." She stated. "Call the senbei a bribe to let me stay and watch."

"Oh, Yuzuru, huh?" he asked, looking around. "All the way at the end. I think Toma was with him."

"Thanks, Kou." She said, smiling before heading that way. She approached the area and noticed the 14 year old setting up. "Ema." He looked up at her, eyes widening a little.

"Akemi-senpai…" he stared at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, of course." She smiled, making his cheeks color a little. "How are you holding up?" she asked. "Kage's still cranky as ever?" she asked with a smile.

"… I'm alright." He replied. "And he's fine. Still fun to mess with." He put his trigger down and turned to have a proper conversation with her. "How is Azami?"

"He's ranking up slowly but surely." She smiled. "He's currently captain of Aihara-2, Ranked 12 in the B-Rank groups." She added.

"Oh? He's finally in the Rank Wars?" he seemed interested. "That's good for him."

"Isn't it?" she smiled. "I'm so proud of him~ Just like I'm proud of you, Yuzu~" she hugged him gently, making his face color red.

"A-akemi-senpai, people are staring!"

"Haha, it's so fun to make you blush~" she let go and pat his head. "Sorry, I can't help it. The big sister in me says I gotta embarrass the cute kouhai every now and again." she grinned.

"… Akemi-senpai is weird."

"Ahaha, yes yes as I've been told." She pet his head for a bit longer before she withdrew her hand.

"Akemi-senpai?"

"Oh, Chika-chan." Akemi waved at the girl. "Here to practice?"

"Well we were but…" she looked around. "It seems there aren't any spaces."

"You can take this one." Ema stated, removing the bag from the space.

"Isn't that Toma's?"

"He won't care."

"Mmm, I suppose not." Akemi nodded as Ema went back to his shooting area. "I'm just here to observe, so do your best everyone." She smiled, keeping a close eye on Chika and Ema as she stood back from them so as not to be in the way.

* * *

Akemi was wandering around HQ after her fight with Mikan to cool off, the girl having caused Akemi to get all worked up after telling her things about her "first time" and making sure to emphasize the "important things" she thought the girl should know about it. She was exhausted, but now that it was done she could rest for a bit. She stopped at the end of the hall, almost falling over when she felt a dizzy spell hit her. But someone caught her.

"Over doing it again." Kazama said, helping her stand straight. "Are you okay?"

"... Soya?" she looked a little confused. "Aren't you still-?"

"I'm fine." he stated. "You on the other hand went a little overboard with that last fight you were in." he added.

"Mikan's just being overbearing." She replied, smiling a little. "I'm glad you're not sleepy anymore." She hugged him gently.

"Akemi!" the pair was interrupted by a woman rushing over and knocking Akemi out of Soya's arms, the strawberry-blonde nuzzling against Akemi's cheek. "You're okay!"

"Mikan, please get off." Akemi said, still pouting.

"B-but Akemi!" Mikan pouted back. She paused when Kazama cleared his throat. "Kaza-tan can't hog Akemi!" she clung to the brunette. "She's mine!"

"Mikan, OFF." Akemi repeated, the tone she used earning her a reprieve from Mikan's deadly hugs. "And I'm NOT yours, so we're clear on that."

"Aww, but Akemi!"

"No."

"Buuuu, Kaza-tan made Ake all mean and solitary. I can't even give her a grope now~" she reached with grabby hands for Akemi, who then ducked behind Soya. "Buuu buuuu." Mikan withdrew her hands and pouted, crossing her arms.

"I wish you would refrain from groping my girlfriend, Hoshizura." Kazama stated. "I'm the only one allowed to do that." Akemi's face colored bright red and Soya glanced back at her over his shoulder with the smallest possible smile ever, just enough for her to see. He looked so smug that she wanted to pull on his cheeks, but she didn't; her heart racing. He turned back to Mikan, flinching the slightest bit at the sudden sparkle in Mikan's eyes.

"You two are SOOOO cute, it hurts~!" she exclaimed, grinning wider.

"Mikan." The strawberry blonde turned to see Kako, Nozomi walking their way.

"Nozo~" Mikan rushed the girl and hugged her. "How's the search going?"

"Not so great." She shrugged. "But I have my eye on someone." She added, glancing over to notice the other two. "Oh, Akemi. Kazama." She smiled, walking over to them. "What, did Mikan try and grope you again, Akemi?" she asked.

"She always does, Kako." Akemi replied.

"Mmm but hiding behind Kazama is unusual for you. Usually you just run down the hall." Kako grinned, as though implying something. "Oh well~ I've got to go. I'll see you next week, Kazama."

"Ah." He replied, nodding his head as Kako and Mikan wandered off together, feeling Akemi clinging to his jacket. "Ready to go home?" he asked, knowing she got uncomfortable with Kako around him so casually.

"Please." She smiled at him a little, taking his hand and heading back to her house with him in tow.

* * *

((A jealous Akemi emerges~ Ahahaha~

Look forward to upcoming events~ Reviews are always appreciated~

-Winter Cheshire))


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Bonding

* * *

Ayumi was sitting in her squad's practice room after their morning rounds, looking over her old rank war tapes to get a better feel for how she dealt with certain situations. She sighed, turning to look at the door when she heard it open. But instead of her team, she saw Miwa Squad's captain. "Sh-shuji?" she asked, looking shocked. "What're you doing here?" she asked.

"You left this at school yesterday, but I had patrol so I couldn't return it to you." He stated, handing it to her. It was a little case. Ayumi's eyes widened.

"Ah, sorry!" she exclaimed.

"You seriously can't leave your pain meds laying around." He told her.

"Y-you knew what it was?" she asked.

"Yes, I did." He replied. "You always take them when you think no one's watching." He added.

"E-eeeh…"

"Don't forget them next time." He added. "… were you reviewing the other team's tapes?" he asked her. She shook her head, smiling nervously.

"I was reviewing my own battles… I know I need a lot of improvement so…" she chuckled.

"… You can't do that entirely alone." He told her. "You would have trouble picking out your own flaws." He added, moving to sit next to where she'd been. Ayumi stared, smiling more at him before she went to sit next to him, starting the tapes up again.

* * *

Azami and his squad were walking through the Rank Wars waiting area when they noticed Kageura confronting some C-Ranks about something they. "Man, Kageura-san is ruthless." Kai muttered.

"Of course he is." Azami replied, eyes not moving from the older man as he disengaged the two C-Rank's trigger transformations, leaving them on the floor, thrown back because of the explosion of smoke. "It's Kage-san, after all." The man with the messy hair then turned his attention on Azami's group.

"Oi, you!" Kage glared at Azami as he stalked over, the other two boys of Aihara-2 standing back as Azami was confronted by the Kageura Squad leader. "I know you from somewhere, don't I?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the boy. He glanced at his ranking badge, eyes narrowing further. "You're Aihara's kid brother, the one who got attacked by a neighbor a while back, right?"

"That's right, Kage-san." Azami replied, not even flinching at the man's aggressive tone. "But I've recovered and am currently leading my own squad in the B-Rank Wars." He added.

"Keh, you?" Kage laughed. "Man, you're one hell of a fighter." He added. "Is that sniper sister of yours still mad at me for trying to get a fight with you?"

"Not so much now." He shrugged. "It's more my oldest sister."

"You have two? Geez what a pain."

"Kage." Murakami, Ko walked over with a certain white-haired boy in tow.

"You're late!" he barked at Ko.

"Oh, Ko-senpai." Azami bowed his head to the grey-haired teen, as did Kai. "Nice to see you again."

"Azami." Ko smiled. "Still trying to get a fight with Kage?"

"I would but… if news got to Nee-sama, I'd be in too much trouble to make it worth it." He replied, shaking his head. Ko chuckled.

"Akemi-san is always very protective of you."

"It's a pain in the ass." Kageura growled. "It's been almost a year since it happened, and he's been cleared for fighting."

"I agree, but my sister is too aggressive when it comes to this stuff." He replied. "If she heard you saying that, she'd challenge you and probably beat you up."

"Hah?! You sayin' I'd lose?!" Kage glared at Azami.

"No, I'm saying she'd beat you up." He replied. "I don't know the outcome, that all depends on which Trigger Nee-sama decides to use." He added, Kage pausing before glaring at the ground and kicking it in an attempt to stop himself from breaking something he'd have to pay for. He was about to say something else when he turned, dodging a jumping figure. "Shun. What the heck are you doing?"

"Yo, Azami!" Shun grinned. "You're here to practice, can I have a fight?"

"No way." He replied. "I'm not here to practice, I'm here cause I'm waiting for Yuzuru." He stated. "He owes me a soda."

"A soda?" Kai tilted his head.

"What for?" Kenma asked.

"Azami." As though on cue, Yuzuru walked over, carrying a soda and tossing it to the brunette boy. He caught it without looking, turning to the boy and performing a short handshake with him. "You were right."

"Told you." Azami opened the soda.

"Right about?" Kai asked.

"It's nothing, Kai." Azami added before downing some of the soda. "Thanks for the soda, Yuzuru." He added. He then turned to Yuma. "… You're in Mikumo Squad, right?" he asked.

"That's right." Yuma offered his hand. "I'm Kuga, Yuma. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Aihara, Azami." The boy said, shaking Yuma's hand. "I heard about you from Akemi-neesama." He added. "And that you fight very well."

"Eeeh, so you're Akemi-senpai's little brother?" he asked. "I see I see…" he nodded. "If it's possible, maybe we could have a match some time? I managed to catch your match the other day, and you're very skilled." He smiled. "Jin-san told me that had you not been in rehabilitation, you'd have been in A-Rank already. I'd like to see how you fight."

"That's just an exaggeration by Jin-san." Azami shook his head. "But I would like to think that just means he has confidence in my skills, so I guess it's fine." He added. "I'd have to make sure Akemi-neesama isn't going to bite my head off for accepting, though."

"Ohh, yes I heard that from Jin-san too." Yuma nodded. "That Akemi-san is a raging mother bear, whatever that means." He replied.

"Hah, she's a bear? Does that mean she's bulky and muscled?" Kage asked, Azami quirking an eyebrow at the man.

"Um…" everyone else fell silent.

"What, is she just pudgy? Or is she somehow really tall and wide?" Kage asked, attempting to get the information out of the younger boys.

"That's enough speculation, Kageura." The blackette turned to see Kazama standing behind him.

"Ah, Kazama-san…" Azami bowed his head to the man. "Nee-sama isn't here, is she…?"

"No, she had to run to a meeting with Kido-san." He replied. "But she's still in the building, it would be best for you not to insult her, Kageura." He added. "If she heard you, there's no telling what she'd do." He added. "She's got a temper too."

"That's Akemi-neesama alright." Azami sighed.

"She's really scary too, when she wants to be." Shun nodded. "She's super strong and she fights with a bunch of different triggers, I heard."

"What's she gonna do?" Kage asked.

"Well, Kage-kun." They all turned to see Akemi walking over. "I might have to beat you up." she stated. "For multiples reasons… starting with trying to challenge my brother before he was out of rehab, and ending with assuming that my being a mother bear only has to do with my appearance." She stopped at the edge of the group. "But I have patrol soon, so it will have to wait for another day." She added. Kageura glared at her and she glared back before she turned to Kazama. "Soya, Kido-san called for you again."

"Ah, I'll head there right away…" he bowed his head before walking over to her and the pair headed out. Azami sighed once his sister and Kazama left the room.

"That could have ended badly." He stated.

"What do you mean?" Yuma asked.

"Ah well…" Azami turned to Yuma. "Don't tell people, but Akemi-neesama and Kazama-san are dating so I was worried he might retaliate for her… but then again, Kazama-san doesn't do that sort of thing, he lets Akemi-nee take care of herself most of the time…"

"Oh, so they really are dating?" Ko asked. "That's unusual, with the really scary Akemi-san and the really calm Kazama-san as a couple…"

"Eeeh, that's really true?" Shun asked.

"It's true." Yuzuru confirmed.

"That's one hell of a power pair." Kai sighed.

"Of course." Kenma nodded. "The number 2 ranked attacked and a floater agent who's said to be a demon in human skin?" he laughed.

"Oi, shut up Kenma." Azami told his team mate. "Don't call my sister a demon."

"But she is." Kenma said.

"Stop fighting." Kai said, trying to break them up. "Come on, we have to go do some patrol don't we?" he asked.

"Oh, you should hurry then." Ko told them.

"We will." Azami turned to the others and bowed his head. "See you guys alter." Aihara-2's members headed out, leaving the others where they stood.

* * *

Akemi arrived back at Tamakoma after she escorted Soya to Kido's office, having wanted to confirm some plans with him before she headed out. When she arrived, she noticed no one was hanging around in the living spaces so she headed towards the training area. Sure enough, there was Shiori directing the young Tamakoma-2 group to leave their training for the afternoon to have a snack. "Ah, Akemi." She waved at the girl as Osamu's group emerged. "I was hoping you'd be back this afternoon." She smiled. "Did you bring the pudding?"

"Of course I did, I brought more than enough for everyone." She said, placing the bag down on the table and opening it to hand each of the young Tamakoma members a pudding pack and a spoon.

"Thank you very much." Osamu stated.

"Thank you, Akemi-senpai." Chika smiled, taking the pudding.

"Oooh, what is this?"

"It's pudding, Yuma." Akemi smiled. "Try it, it's sweet."

"Oooh, sweet?" he asked, opening it and looking at it before taking a bite. "Oooh, very sweet… it's cold too… and this is an unusual texture." He nodded, continuing to devour his snack. Akemi looked to the other two, Chika enjoying the pudding as well. But when she looked at Osamu, he seemed troubled. Akemi smiled a little, knowing he must be under a lot of pressure.

"What is it?" she asked him, making him jump.

"U-um well…" he looked up at her, placing down the pudding. "Akemi-senpai… I was wondering…" he mumbled. "Would you mind… giving me a lesson in using shooter triggers?" he asked, bowing his head. Akemi paused, staring at him for a moment.

"That's fine but…" she blinked. "Aren't you getting lessons from Kouhei-kun and Jun-kun?" she asked.

"I-I am but…" he muttered. "I want to see how Akemi-san fights as well. I've heard from Jin-san that it's very different from many other shooters."

"Ah… well though it is, it's probably not a style for you." Usami chimed in, eating her pudding.

"What do you mean?" Osamu asked, looking confused.

"Osamu-kun." The glasses boy turned to look at Akemi again. "I have never been cleared for a standard shooter trigger." Akemi stated. "I've always used Mukou or my Tamakoma Shooter Trigger." She stated. "Though it may on the surface behave as any other Shooter Trigger, my trigger is built specifically for my style of fighting." She stated. "It's why I've never been ranked against anyone from HQ and thus never been graded as far as my Trigger goes up against someone like Ninomiya." She added, Osamu's eyes going wide. "Ah, thought so. You were hoping I was going to be able to give you a taste of a high-level shooter so you can prepare for your fight with Ninomiya." She stated.

"I… I'm sorry, Akemi-senpai." Osamu bowed his head.

"It's not your fault, it was a good idea though." She stated. "But unfortunately it's been many years since I fought Ninomiya and his squad. In fact I haven't had a Rank War with them since their sniper was still Hatohara, Mirai." She added.

"Hatohara-san… you knew her?" Osamu asked.

"Yes, for a while… we weren't especially close, but Mirai was nice enough… we bonded over having apprentices, though." She added. "She was training a boy in Kageura Squad, your next opponent. Yuzuru, Ema. And I was training one of my team mates, Kumajiro, Sanyo. They were the same age and rather similar in their behaviors towards us, so it was nice. Though they didn't see one another much…" she added. "Anyway." She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "Back to before… I'm probably not a good match to teach you shooter trigger use, Osamu-kun."

"Akemi-senpai, why is that?" Chika asked.

"Simply because Mukou breaks the Border Triggers." She replied.

"Breaks them…?"

"Mukou likes to eat Trion. But he's also very nosy. Mukou will insert a part of himself into my trigger to prevent me from getting my transformation pulled back and leaving myself defenseless." She said. "And anything mass produced, to Mukou anyway, is useless and he doesn't like them. So unless my life is on the line, Mukou will destroy the Trigger and cause it to become inoperable." She stated.

"But I saw your old fights with Ninomiya Squad, and you were wielding a kogetsu back then." Osamu pointed out.

"Oh, that's different." She stated. "I can wield a kogetsu just fine." She replied. "It's just Border Shooter Triggers. Mukou has something against them, says they're too weak and not worth the trion." She stated. "So when I was getting my Tamakoma Trigger developed, I asked for a shooter Trigger that would be able to handle Mukou." She added. "Which is what this is." She took out her trigger from her pocket, showing it to them. It was an ice blue trigger with black lines on it. "This is Nitrous."

"Nitrous?" Osamu asked.

"Yes. Nitrous." Usami smiled. "The powerhouse shooter trigger that requires a certain level of resolve to unlock its latent power, it's also called the Machine Gun of Shooter Triggers."

"Shiori, that's just a nickname that you made up." Akemi scolded the girl.

"But it is. Especially once you get past layer 2." She replied with a pout. "Nitrous acts normally as any other shooter trigger on the first layer, but once you get past that it's much more aggressive and powerful."

"But that's not the point." Akemi reminded her. "I don't fight like most shooters, remember? I use my shooter trigger as a distraction or I go full in like an attacker. Rarely do I ever sit back and wait for opportunities."

"You… fight like an attacker with a shooter trigger?" Osamu questioned. "How?"

"Ahh… I guess I can show you… Shiori, do you still have those tapes?" she asked, the girl nodding and pulling up the video as Tamakoma-2 came around the table to watch.

"Here, this is the last match you had that you used Nitrous on level 2." Shiori stated. "Her opponent was Konami."

"Eeeh, Konami-senpai?" Yuma asked, watching the match with his team mates. "Ooh, you started off charging right in!" he stated.

"Yes, I usually do when I fight Kirie." Akemi replied. "Shiori, just head forward to where I use Nitrous." She said, the girl nodding and fast forwarding the video. "There." She said, Shiori playing it back at normal speed. The younger one's eyes widened, Osamu taking note of just how aggressive Akemi was with her shooter trigger when she fought. Once the video was done, she looked to Osamu. "See now?" she asked.

"Yes… but thank you for the insight, all the same." He bowed his head to her.

"Not at all." She shook her head. "That's part of my job as your senpai, isn't it?" she smiled. "Now." She looked around. "I think I have some time. Do you want to try a fight with me, Osamu-kun?" she asked. "I'll keep my trigger to its first layer, and you can see its power first hand." She added.

"R-really?!" he asked, seeming excited.

"Of course. That's part of the job too." She smiled. "Though, I'll have to pay Kyousuke back for borrowing his student." She chuckled. "Shall we?" she asked, motioning to the training room.

"Yes, Akemi-senpai!"

When Akemi finished the fight with Osamu, she escorted the Tamakoma-2 agents home. Once she dropped Osamu off, she went to the 24-hour convenience store to grab a snack when she noticed Kazama Squad. "Oh… Soya. Kikuchii. Uta."

"Akemi-san." Utagawa bowed his head.

"Che, you have a radar or something…" Kikuchihara grumbled.

"Akemi. What are you doing here?" Soya asked, not seeming to have paid attention to Kikuchihara's comment. "I thought you were going to spend the night at Tamakoma?"

"I was going to if I needed to, but I just walked Tamakoma-2 back to their homes, so I figured I'd get a snack and head home." She stated. "Azami went to stay at Kou's place with his team and Ayumi to talk strategy, since Kou's on defense duty tonight." She replied. "So either I check on the house or go back to Tamakoma, doesn't matter which." She added. "I feel like finding a rooftop though… I kind of want to stargaze." She added, looking up at the sky.

"Mm… that actually doesn't sound bad." Kazama stated. Kikuchihara rolled his eyes at them and Utagawa scolded him silently. "You two can go." He said to his team.

"Whatever you say, Kazama-san." Kikuchihara shrugged his shoulders. "Just don't be too close to us when you start making out on the rooftop." He said before dashing off, Utagawa apologizing with a bow before chasing after his team mate. Kazama's cheeks colored a little, but his face remained stoic as he turned to Akemi.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." She smiled. "Kikuchihara's just cranky because I always come around and borrow you." She chuckled. "He still doesn't know that we're dating, right?"

"If he did I think he'd give you a much harder time." Soya replied, taking her hand and leading her back towards his apartment. She smiled, nodding her head and letting him lead her back to his place, smiling the whole way.

* * *

The following morning, Akemi woke up to the sound of Soya's alarm clock. "Soya...?" Akemi clung to his shirt as she felt him getting out of bed. "Don't leave me alone…" she nuzzled against him, the man sighing at her antics. "Stay."

"I have defense duty." He told her. "And you need sleep."

"Nnn, don't go." She muttered, Soya petting her head.

"I'll stay for five more minutes, but I do have to go." He told her, petting her head. "Okay?"

"… Okay." She muttered, clinging to him for the remaining time he was there. Once he had to get up and leave, Akemi rolled around in bed. "Mmm… really can't sleep…" she mumbled, getting up and checking her phone before getting dressed for the day. "Well, I guess I can go and do my work early…" she told herself. "And I guess I should make sure Azami and Ayumi are training…" she pouted. "Mmm… sleepy." She yawned before heading out after locking the door behind her, smiling at the key she held in her hand. "Ahh, this is nice…" she told herself as she walked down the hall.

* * *

((Hi everyone~ As you may already know, World Trigger the anime has ended. ; u ;' At least for now...

But I'm still writing, continuing along the manga's plot line~ Please look forward to more updates~

Next time, more jealous Akemi~ And perhaps something else~ u

-Winter Cheshire))


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